Out of Sight, Out of Mind?
by Deceptively Sane
Summary: Isabella is a blind runaway. After 5 years, the search ends and she is free. Now Bella, she has adjusted to everyday life. What happens when her past comes back to bite her? Will her new friends be dragged down with her? AH BellaOOC *Complete*
1. Prologue

**Hello, people. I'm warning you now that this story's a bit... strange? and that the chapters will switch between Edward's POV and Bella's POV every other chapter. Let me know what you think. This is my first Twilight story.**

**Disclaimer: Twilight is not mine. This goes for the whole story because I'm too lazy to retype it every time.**

Prologue

"Is- Bella! Come look at this!" Emmett's voice boomed from upstairs.

I slid off my bed and padded over to my door. I reached for the knob, but my hand went straight through. I'm sure I closed that, I thought mildy. Five steps forward, ten to the left. My pace slowed as I approached the staircase. Emmett had a nasty habit of dropping things on the steps. At the top, I reached for the door and pushed it open.

"Poor choice of words, Em," I pointed out.

"Sorry. You know me," he joked.

"Yeah, you and your blind jokes," I replied sarcastically. After throwing a smile in his general direction-near the front door, I think-I sank into one of the chairs by the television.

"What do you need help with?" I inquired.

"Nothing. Just thought you'd wanna hear the news." I felt him breeze past me to the couch. The couch creaked as he reached for the remote on the coffee table.

"What news?" I was beginning to get impatient and he knew it. My knee bounced silently as my toes tapped against the thick carpet.

"You'll see." His tone was light, but a bit weary. I started to worry until I head it:

_Sources tell us that the search for Isabella Swan has come to a close..._

That was all I needed to hear. With a relieved sigh, I sank deeper into my chair while the news reporter droned on.

It made the most sense, closing the case. The chances of the average blind child surviving three years alone aren't something I'd hold _my _breath over either. Good thing I'm not average.

"So..." Emmett started. "What now?" He waited curiously for my response.

"I don't know." With the search Isabella Swan out of the way, Bella McCarty was free to come out of hiding. The possibilities were endless.

"Resurface?" It was a start. The shadow of a smile slowly made its way across my face.

**I know it's short, but this is just the prologue. Review and let me know what you think please.**


	2. Let the Rumors Fly!

**The rest of the story takes place three years later (including this chapter). Also, I thought I should clarify. This is a JasperxBella story. I'm pointing it out because I noticed that in the author's note for the prologue I accidentally typed "Edward." Sorry about that. :( Now I'll stop bugging you and let you read.**

**Let the Rumors Fly!**

"_I. don't. CARE!"_ My radio alarm suddenly began blaring My Chemical Romance full blast. I groaned and rolled over, falling off my bed in the process. Once my head rush wore off, I staggered over to my closet and pulled out my usual skinny jeans and band tee. Colors aside, no one ever noticed what I wore anyway.

"JASPER! TURN IT DOWN!" my ever-loving mother screeched from the kitchen downstairs. She's not a morning person... When I heard her footsteps stomping toward the staircase, I scrambled over to my alarm to turn it down.

"_And though you're broken and defeated," _the alarm was just above a whisper. After my mother's stomps passed my door, I slid down my wall with a sigh of relief. It was short-lived though.

I glanced at the large, circular clock hanging on my black wall. The Roman numerals read 7:45. Crap! I shuffled into my bathroom and brushed my teeth, simultaneously wrestling with my unruly black-and-blond hair. With a little gel and time with the straightener, it finally settled down. Once that was out of the way, I peeked out of the bathroom-just in case- and grabbed the eyeliner out of the back of the drawer.

By 8:05, I was out the door with ten minutes to drive to school. Ten minutes. Plenty of time.

XxXxXxXxXxXxXxXx

A deafening silence fell over the class as I walked into homeroom. It broke when a couple of girls giggled. Others scoffed. The jocks cracked a few emo jokes, not that _that_ was anything new. I stalked over to my chair in the back left corner. Though it was the first day of school, nothing had changed from last year. This was all a routine everyone had established when I moved here in middle school: I enter, silence, they laugh, I sit, they laugh, I ignore them, they get bored and move on.

We had just reached the part where I sit when someone broke routine.

Rosalie, one of the schools most popular-and bitchy-cheerleaders, made some comment on how emo kids shouldn't go to school here, or something. That wasn't anything out of the ordinary; it was the response that threw me off.

"Don't you think you're being a bit judgmental?" The voice floated though the room like a cool breeze, effectively drawing everyone's attention. Everyone-including myself-turned to find the source. The room grew deathly silent for the second time this morning. _No one_ stands up to Rosalie Hale.

"_Excuse_ me?" Rosalie's voice raised an octave.

"Apologize to _him_, not _me_," the girl replied curtly. Her head was resting on her desk along with her left arm. She angled herself so she was facing Rosalie in the desk a row away from her. So this is Bella, the new girl. I'd heard a little about her, but not much. I knew she absolutely despised the name "Isabella," and that her parents died in an exceptionally violent car accident-which she witnessed.

Emmett, the school's _massive_ quarterback, was sitting in between them with a cheeky grin. He seemed to be enjoying their little argument more than anyone.

"What's up with you people and your hostility toward 'emo' kids?" she lazily raised her left hand from her lap to air quote 'emo.' "Isn't that just a _bit_ prejudiced?" The last part was quieter, like she was saying it to herself. _"Clothes racist, maybe?"_ she tried. Emmett chuckled at her word choice.

"Just look at him!" Rosalie jabbed a finger in my direction.

Suddenly, Emmett burst into boisterous laughter. Why, I had no idea. Some confused glances were exchanged amongst my classmates. Apparently, they didn't get it either. "WHAT?" Rosalie was yelling now.

Bella scowled and clamped a hand over her uncovered ear.

Between guffaws, Emmett tried to explain. "Bella is b-"

"Emmett!" Bella snapped. Everyone jumped. A few kids dropped their cell phones and two others even fell out of their chairs in shock. Even _Emmett_ seemed a bit frightened by the sheer intensity of her voice. For the third time in under twenty minutes, the classroom was as silent as a graveyard.

The silence was broken a few seconds later as our perky homeroom teacher scurried into the room. "Sorry I'm late! Oh! So _quiet_ this morning."

Mrs. Larson scampered about the classroom, passing out our new class schedules. "Aren't you a cute little thing?" she cooed as she gave Bella her schedule. A blush crept across her face and she quickly put her head back on her desk.

I had to agree with the woman, not that I'd ever admit it. Her glossy, dark brown hair tumbled down her shoulders to her mid-back in loose curls. Her bangs hid her eyes, not that I could complain. My right eye was covered by my "emo fringe," as the "popular" kids put it. She was wearing converse along with black skinny jeans and a Linkin Park hoodie. What had to be the most interesting were her nails. They were painted black with red peeking through around the edges to look like her fingers were bleeding. That, and they were all filed to a point. Those things could do some _serious_ damage.

As Mrs. Larson explained the school rules that hadn't changed in years, I couldn't help but think this year might actually be-Dare I say it?-_interesting._

XxXxXxXxXxXxXxXx

An hour later, I was shuffling into Latin. Enter, silence, laugh, sit, laugh, ignore, move on. There I had the pleasure of sitting behind Edward-captain of the baseball team- and his girlfriend Alice-also a cheerleader.

We've never had much of a problem with each other; they're more more considerate than most everyone else. I heard once that Edward had gone through some sort of 'dark phase' before he met Alice which would explain their tolerance.

I was pulled from my thoughts by a squealing Alice. "Have you seen Emmett's sister?"

She's Emmett's _sister_? Alice's little outburst left me dumbfounded. She must've noticed because she turned from Edward to face me.

"She's adopted," Alice explained. That makes sense, I guess. She moved to face both me and Edward. "Em said that his dad found her in a forest with a pack of wolves!" That certainly turned a few heads. There were only seven other kids in the room, but I could guarantee that the entire school will have heard the story- or at least some type of rumor that stemmed from it- by lunch.

"This_ is _Emmett we're talking about," Edward reasoned. "He could have also said she was a vampire they found in the attic one day." Let the rumors fly... I felt for the girl.

"That reminds me," Alice chirped, turned to face me again. "Did she really get into a fight with Rosalie this morning?" she whispered.

Edward's eyebrows rose as he turned to me as well. "I heard it was over you," he threw in with a cocky, crooked smile.

"It was _not_ over me!" I snapped, suddenly irritated. Why, I had no idea.

"That's not what I heard!" Alice sang. Edward's cocky smile turned into a knowing smirk.

I scowled. "You _really_ shouldn't believe everything you hear," I warned.

XxXxXxXxXxXxXxXx

I was right about the _news_ spreading. In fact, I heard at least four completely different rumors just walking from my locker to the cafeteria doors.

So apparently, she was either:

A) a vampire because she slept through history class and no one _ever_ does _that_. Although I also heard she took a snap at Mike Newton, the school player.

B) a rogue alien hiding from the government in Emmett's attic because her nails are _far_ too pointy to be those of a human being.

C) a werewolf because Emmett said his dad found her with a pack of wolves, and Emmett _always _knows what he's talking about.

Or D) This one killed me. She's a recent recent escapee from a nearby insane asylum bent on massacring the town and eating the hearts and faces of all the "normal people that sent her away." She just moved here. Who could've possibly sent her away to begin with? I believe Rosalie started this one.

The cafeteria food seemed a bit... repulsive, so I settled for an apple, pulled up the hood of my Breaking Benjamin hoodie, and walked outside. It was raining, so I assumed I'd be alone. None of the girls would willingly risk messing up their hair or makeup in the rain, yet they end out screwing it up anyway when they make out with the guys in the hallway. Chicks. I knew the guys wouldn't be out here either simply because the girls were inside. People are so predictable it's almost upsetting.

Much to my surprise, someone_ was_ outside. As I walked toward the student parking lot, I saw none other than Bella sleeping under a tree. Alone in the rain. She really is a strange one, not that I can talk. I'm out here too, after all.

Before I knew it, my feet had carried me to the tree. Realizing I had no idea what I was doing, I nervously put my hood down. Running a hand through my sopping wet hair, I mentally slapped myself for walking over there to begin with. She_ is_ asleep. Maybe I can walk away now like nothing happened. I took a measured step back.

Bella's lips suddenly twitched up as if she knew exactly what I was doing. She stretched like a cat after a long nap in the sun and rolled onto her back, pulling herself into a sitting position against the tree.

She patted the spot next to her with a sweet smile. I cautiously took a step forward only to be greeted by a golf ball sized drop of rain that had managed to sneek between the leaves. Bella must've seen my surprised face because the moist, rainy air was filled with her tinkling laughter. It reminded me of wind chimes. The sound was almost soothing.

"Would you like to go somewhere a bit dryer?" Her voice was sweet, yet mocking. She had replaced her pleasant smile with an amused smirk.

"If you insist," I sighed with a smirk of my own.

Bella looked down and slowly shook her head as she rose to her feet. Her smile was visible, but her eyes were still hidden. I found myself wondering what they looked like.

"Where to?" she asked lazily.

"My car is closer than the cafeteria," I suggested. "Care to join me?"

"Beats being trapped in a room chalked full of hormonal, stuck-up teenagers," she agreed. Her response surprised me.

"You don't like your brother?"

"I never said _that_." She dismissed my accusation with a wave of her hand.

"So he's just a stuck-up, hormonal teenager, then?" I teased.

"Nah, he's not stuck-up." I could hear the smile in her voice as she reached down to grab her back and purple skelebat messenger bag.

"You forgot to mention whether or not he's hormonal," I pried. It was almost frightening how easy it was to talk to her.

"Did I?" she sang.

"I have a feeling I know the answer anyway." I may be out of the loop, but I'm not stupid. Everyone knew about Emmett and Rosalie. They weren't exactly a _reserved_ couple.

Bella pulled up her hood and threw her bag over her shoulder. She laughed. "You probably do."

I pulled up the hood of my MCR hoodie and stepped into the pouring rain. It wasn't just coming down in sheets, it was coming down in pillows and blankets and freaking _comforters!_

I turned back around just in time to catch Bella as she stumbled into the rain. She fell into my chest and my arms snaked around her waist, helping her regain her balance.

"Sorry," Bella mumbled into my chest. She pulled back and I got a glimpse of one of her eyes. "I didn't realize how hard it was raining. Threw me off... Literally." It looked peculiar. Then again, I only got a glimpse.

We walked silently to my black Audi, our shoulders only an inch apart. Hers were hunched and her head was down. She stuffed her hands into her hoodie pocket.

"You'll get used to it."

"What?" She lifted her head a little to show she was listening.

"In Forks, it rains more often then not. You get used to it... Kind of," I reiterated.

"Well _that's_ reassuring." Her voice was dripping with sarcasm. "When did you get over it?"

"That's where the 'kind of' comes in," I explained.

XxXxXxXxXxXxXxXx

Once we reached my car, I popped the trunk and pulled out a few blankets and towels. We were soaked. I turned on the car and got the heater running. I took off my hoodie and threw it over one of the vents in front to dry. Bella copied me and we sat in back with the towels and blankets.

I started towel drying my hair. It must've looked ridiculous. "So you won't sit in a cafeteria with a bunch of teenagers, but you'll sit in the back of a car with one?" It was a bit strange... At least in the cafeteria there's room to get away from them.

"Would you rather be stuck in a spacious tiger cage, or in a smaller space with a kitten?" What?

"The kitten, I guess?" What kind of a question was that? It made me think of those psychoanalysis tests. "Does that make me the kitten?"

"Mm-hm. I didn't mean anything by it, just that you wouldn't try to pull anything." she explained.

"How do you know I'm not just waiting for the right opportunity?" I was honestly curious. My own parents didn't trust me as much as Bella seemed to.

"We've been alone for the past ten minutes, yet you haven't done a thing."

"I could be trying to gain your trust first. Besides, I'm sure everyone knows we're out here. I'd like to think they smart enough to put at least _that much_ together," I relied sardonically. Yeah, right.

"They're not that smart. I've been here for maybe four hours, and I already know that much." I handed her my towel so she could dry her hair and pulled a comb out of my door. "Plus, I think I'd know if you were some serial rapist murderer," she pointed out. It wasn't her words that had my curious now; it was the smile that crossed her face.

"This isn't one of those 'takes one to know one' things, is it?" I asked cautiously, half serious, half joking.

She stopped drying her hair a moment, then started laughing. I didn't know whether to be relieved -that she didn't take it personally- or freaked out -because she thought it was funny. "Don't worry. I wouldn't do something like that." She stopped laughing. "Just a few close encounters, is all."

I sat there, shocked. "Are you okay?"

"No need to worry about that." She waved a hand, brushing it off. "They're taken care of. Besides, they didn't actually pull it off anyway."

"Still, you must've been pretty freaked out..." I know I would. I carry a pocket knife... She probably didn't have anything.

"A little, they were like Newton, except bigger... In every meaning of the word." She giggled at the last part. She managed to get a surprised laugh out of me. "Around here, rumors spread faster than the plague. Like I'd actually get close enough to find out." Bella's face scrunched up in disgust. That was a relief to hear.

"While we're on the topic, what do you think of Forks, Aside from the hormones, rain, and stuck-up teenagers, obviously."

"It's not too bad actually. I didn't expect _anything_ good would come of it, especially after that argument in homeroom. I promised Claude and Phil I'd-" She dropped the brush she'd pulled out of her bag. "Oh, _crap!_"

"What?" I felt like I was getting whiplash from the constant mood changes.

"I was going to call during lunch to check in on them, but I took a nap instead." I caught her hand before she smacked herself on the head. She reached into her back pocket and pulled out her cellphone.

"Well, you can't really go out side, so I'll turn on my iPod for you." I wasn't about to eavesdrop.

"Thanks." She speed dialed the number and lifted the phone to her ear as I put in my earbuds. 30 Seconds to Mars drowned Bella out as she spoke quietly about things I couldn't hear. I closed my eyes and settled into my seat until I felt a tap on my shoulder.

**See, I told you the next chapter would be longer! It's over 3,000 words... That's a lot for me. Questions, comments, something not make sense? Let me know. Thanks for reading :D Review please! They motivate me.**


	3. Better Than Expected

**Longest chapter so far! Obviously, it's in Bella's point of view.**

**Better Than Expected**

I walked into English and all but collapsed into my seat. Had I known how much trouble school was, I'd have thought twice about that deal. Three years of this for one lousy trip to Phoenix? I am such an idiot.

To make matters worse, I'm stuck in a stuffy little room with fifteen other teenagers and a teacher. I'm not exactly what you'd call 'social.' Not only am I stuck in a stuffy little room a bunch of teenagers, I'm stuck in a room with a bunch of _stupid_, _hormonal_ teenagers. They verbally attack each other like lions fighting over an animal carcass. I don't have a problem with lions. As a matter of fact, I'd much rather be stuck in a room full of lions than these bimbos and posers. It doesn't take a working pair of eyes to know what they're doing. Be it in the classroom, hallway, or janitors closet.

School started less than an hour ago, yet at least ten guys have tried to get my number or give me _theirs_, six guys have tried to carry my books for me, and a flock of girls are already hard at work spreading rumors about yours truly. They aren't even _good_ rumors!

Some cheerleader said I was a vampire after I bit this jerk's arm. That wasn't even my fault! It was strictly self defense... Fine, so there may have a side of irritation.

_At the end of homeroom, I woke to the sound of a church bell. Once I realized I was still at school, I grabbed my bag and started toward first period English. As I merged into the sea of moving bodies, I though vaguely about how strange it was that they'd use a church bell at school._

_Twenty steps out the door, turn right, thirty steps-_

_I was pulled from my thoughts when someone grabbed my arm and dragged me from the crowd. Five steps to the left. I fought off my punch-the-guy-that-grabbed-me reflex that I'd gained over the years and waited patiently for the jerk to say something. My next class was in another building. I didn't want to just stand around outside when I had a place to be._

_"So you're Isabella?" he asked. He was trying to sound cool, but his voice cracked._

_"Bella," I corrected. "And you are...?" I hate it when people called me that. I forces the scowl off my face._

_"Mike Newton," he tried to use the same nonchalant voice I was. His voice cracked. Again. Needless to say, nonchalance doesn't suit him. "So I've heard a lot about you," he started._

_"Ah, so you've heard the _rumors_," sarcasm leaked through each word like water from a squeezed sponge. _

_"Yeah." He didn't notice. "Pretty crazy, huh?" Mike reached to put an arm over my shoulder, but my reflexes took care of it. My hand snapped out and slapped his arm away. A bit too hard, apparently. I heard a loud clap as his hand flopped back and connected with his face. The clap was followed by Emmett's boisterous laughter. I guess he was watching... _

_Trying to redeem himself, I imagine, Mike shifted his weight and tried to casually lean back against the wall behind him. Too bad the ground was slick from yet another rain. I heard him hit the ground with a loud thud followed, once again, by Em's booming laugh somewhere behind me. Mike was making such a fool of himself that I felt like an idiot. _

_"Are you okay?" I was beginning to worry. Hushed whispers floated throughout the human sea. We'd attracted quite a crowd, apparently. Their staring eyes felt like torpedoes aimed at my back._

_"I'm great!" Yeah, sure. Says the kid sitting in a puddle. "Hey, do you want to hang out this weekend?"_

_All the little fishies must've died because the sea was suddenly silent as the grave. I wished I could see his face... or anyone else's, for that matter. The crowd around us remained still as I stood_ _there dumbfounded. I felt blood slowly creeping over my cheeks as the prying eyes of onlooker bore into my back. I didn't know whether to be astounded by his lack of common sense, embarrassed about the attention he was drawing, or angry that he thought I'd actually fall for his crap._

_After a minute, I managed a taciturn-albeit rude-response. "No, thank you." I turned on my heel and tried to walk away, but my wrist was wrapped in Mike's chubby fingers._

_"I wouldn't advise doing that," I stated, back to my bored monotone. The anger was slowly dominating, and I didn't want things to get... _ugly.

_"What are you going to do, bite me?" Cocky jerk. His grip on my wrist tightened. My anger was starting to boil over the sides. Prying eyes were the only thing keeping me from taking the kid's head off._

_Well. Two could play that game. I tilted my head to the side. Tentatively, I reached with my free hand to my eyes, making sure they were still covered. My finger then rested on my chin while I contemplated out loud. "Well, I was thinking of going with the dreaded crotch shot, but if you insist..._

_"5..." I waited for his reaction. Nothing. "4..." He must think I'm joking. "3..." I lifted my wrist-and his arm-toward my mouth. His grip only tightened. "2..." Waves of snickering and giggles rolled along the sea when I opened my mouth as wide as I could. _

_"ONE!" someone yelled. I shrugged and my jaws clamped around his forearm so hard I tasted blood. Mike finally took the hint and let go of my wrist then ripped his arm from my mouth, effectively worsening the bleeding. I could could hear the blood dripping from his arm to a rain puddle over the whispers and gasps and clapping and scoffs and giggles._

_Emmett's laughter quickly drowned everything out. "That's my girl!"_

_I massaged my sore wrist as I continued the remaining fifteen steps to English class._

"You must be Isabella!" I was ripped from my thoughts by a nasly voice.

"_Bella_," I corrected. So it turns out _rumors_ spread like wildfires around here, but when it comes to _names_, people are utterly clueless. Wonderful.

"I'm Lauren." What does that sound so familiar? _Oh..._

_"Lauren really needs to take a look in the mirror," Rosalie-my adoptive brother's girlfriend- ranted. "She should _not_ be wearing such revealing clothes," she continued. "She looks _so_ disgusting!"_

_Her one-sided conversation came to an abrupt halt as the door clacked shut. I thought it was the teacher until the whispers started._

_"Look, it's Jasper the friendly emo kid!" _

_"Are those pants tight enough for you?" _

_"Where'd you get your eyeliner?" People are so petty. _

_"Cheer up, emo kid!" _

_"Emo kids don't belong here. Go back to your attic and cut yourself!" Rosalie's comment crossed the line. A dog doesn't deserve to be treated like that! _

_"Don't you think you're being a bit _judgmental_?" I tried to keep an even tone and not punch her face in._

"Hell-o!" Lauren's atrocious voice assaulted my ears once again, bringing me back to the present. "I was, like, trying to talk to you." My ears rang and goosebumps rose up my arms and across the back of my neck as her tortured-beastlike voice rose another octave.

"I'm listening," I replied in a strained voice, not that she noticed.

"Oh... okay. Um... I, like, heard that you, like, shot down Mike Newton." I nodded, careful to make sure my bangs didn't shift. Her voice was really getting to me.

"Good! Because he is mine!" Her tone irritated me. "Just so you know, I, like, rule this school. So just, like, stay out of my way and maybe you I'll let you, like, talk to me at lunch or something." This chick is worse than Newton!

"Are you feeling okay," I put on what I hoped was a 'concerned' face.

"Yeah, like, why?"

"You sound a little stuffed up. I was wondering if you were coming down with a cold." I knew it wasn't the case. I just wanted her to go away. Nevertheless, I kept up the 'innocence' facade.

After a couple of minutes, she caught on. And with a _hmph,_ she stomped away. I could all but hear the gears in her head turn as she thought up a few new rumors to spread about me.

Bring it on, I thought sarcastically as the door clicked open and the teacher shouted excited greetings to the class.

What a day...

XxXxXxXxXxXxXxXx

By lunch, everyone seemed to think I was some type of paranormal being. I'd heard vampire, werewolf, alien, and psycho, among other things. I didn't even bother going to the cafeteria. I walked cautiously out the door, pulling up my hood. The rain was horrible.

I eventually came across a huge tree that blocked most of it with its thick foliage. I dropped my bag on the ground and sprawled out on my stomach for a much-needed nap.

It wasn't long before I woke to the sound of approaching footsteps. I waited a minute to see if they'd pass me or try to 'wake me up', but nothing happened. I sat up when I heard them starting to back away. My lips twitched up and I patted the spot next to me.

I didn't know who was there, but the fact that they didn't try anything made me curious. If they were closer, I could get a better idea of who it was. They took a tentative step forward and I heard a loud _plop_. I surprised laugh escaped my lips as the person jerked away in shock. They still hadn't said anything, so I could cross Lauren, Mike, and all those annoying, talkative, popular kids off the list. That was a relief.

"Would you like to go somewhere a bit drier?" I couldn't help but make fun of them a little. Their response could tell me a little about them, anyway.

"If you insist," he sighed. So now I know it's a 'he' and that he can handle a joke. That's a start. I tilted my head down and shook my head, feigning disappointment.

It wasn't a big deal, I'm not a fan of rain myself. It muffles sounds and movement, so I'm less aware of things around me. I didn't hear the guy until he was under the tree, out of the rain.

"Where to?" I asked, trying to sound indifferent. Please don't say the cafeteria, I internally begged.

"My car is closer than the cafeteria. Care to join me?" He sounded like he wouldn't mind what I said either way. He didn't seem as if he had any motives other than getting out of the rain as soon as possible. Why is he out here? I couldn't help but wonder.

"Beats being trapped in a room full of stuck-up, hormonal teenagers." I figured he'd stick up for someone and I'd be able to figure out who he hangs out with. His response ruined that idea.

"You don't like your brother?" he asked, honestly confused. He didn't deny my accusation in any way. I vaguely wondered if he agreed with me.

"I never said _that_," I pointed out.

"So he's just a stuck-up, hormonal teenager, then?" I could hear the smile in his voice. I wasn't used to having a normal conversation, something so laid back. People either put me on a pedestal or treat me like a tool, nothing in between.

"He's not stuck-up," I reassured as I reached down for my bag. I intentionally ignored the latter of the two.

He noticed, though. "You forgot to mention whether or not he's hormonal." Judging by the amused tone in his voice, I figured he already knew the answer.

"Did I?" I asked in a sing-song voice. That surprised me. I rarely slipped out of my monotone, especially in public.

"I have a feeling I know the answer anyway," he said sarcastically. From what I've picked up on, most of the kids around her worship Emmett. The fact that this kid didn't narrowed thing down immensely. I was thankful for that, his lack of interest in Emmett. I wouldn't want to be friends with someone who idolized my adoptive brother. Ew.

"You probably do," I laughed. I knew all about it, and I only met Rose this morning.

I pulled up my hood and followed the boy into the rain, tripping on the first step. The rain was coming down much harder than it did before. I couldn't hear anything over the rain and I barely felt a thing aside from the huge drops pelting me.

Well... That wasn't _completely_ true. I realized-much to my embarrassment-that I tripped into the boy's chest. His arms went around my waist to help me balance. "Sorry," I mumbled into his hoodie before I moved back. "I didn't realize how hard it was raining... Threw me off, literally." His arms dropped and we continued to his car. I tried to walk as close to him as possible, without being obvious. The rain was coming down so hard I couldn't tell where I was going. If he got any farther away, I'd lose track of him.

"You'll get used to it," he said suddenly.

"What?" I tilted my head up a little to hear him better.

"In Forks, it rains more often than not. You get used to it... Kind of," he clarified.

'Kind of' being the operative phrase, I assume. "Well _that's_ reassuring. When did you get over it?" I asked. For some reason, I had a feeling I knew the answer to that one.

"That's where the 'kind of' comes in." I knew it.

XxXxXxXxXxXxXxXx

Our conversation flowed as we dried off in the car. It was a bit disconcerting how easy it was to spill my guts to him. The topic would go from safe, to iffy, to 'get the hell out of there', and back again. We were joking most of the time, but we were still in risky waters.

I wanted to punch myself in the face when I brought up those rapists. What the hell was I thinking? Still, I was pleasantly surprised by the fact that he seemed to genuinely care. My mental list had whittled down to nothing as the conversation went on. I'd all but given up on figuring who he was. I couldn't just ask._ So, now that I've been talking to you the past twenty minutes in the back of your car, what's your name?_ I think not.

Then he asked me about Forks. I really had expected the worst when I agreed to start school here. Claude-a friend from work-and my adoptive father Phil had made me promise not to get into a fight on school property. Not very encouraging. _Wait! _I dropped my brush. _I was supposed to call them!_

"Oh_ crap!_" I yelled a bit louder than necessary.

"What?" he asked.

"I was going to call during lunch to check on them, but I took a nap instead." Normally, I be going in bed around now. I usually work from seven at night to three or four in the morning, but I had to skip work to get ready for school. I tried to hit myself on the head for forgetting, but what's-his-name caught my arm before I had a chance. I pulled my phone out with my free hand.

"Well you can't really go outside, so I'll turn on my iPod for you." He sat back in his seat and pulled out his iPod. I heard 30 Seconds to Mars blasting from his earbuds and remembered the 'emo kid' from homeroom. Hoping I finally figured it out, I speed dialed Claude to see how things went at the agency.

_"You forgot, didn't you, Sweetheart?"_ Claude's silky voice filled my ear.

"I took a nap instead," I admitted sheepishly.

_"Figures,"_ he laughed._ "So how was my little Ghost's first day of school?"_

"Better than expected, actually."

_"How so?"_ he asked. _"None of those horrible boys picked on you, did they Sweets?"_

"Just a little," I replied sarcastically. "They starting leaving me alone after I bit one of them."

_"That's my girl!"_ Claude made me promise not to fight only because Phil had been there at the time. He, much like Emmett, enjoys a good fight. They often act as older brothers and happily cheer me on when I stand up against men that come on to me. _"Did you get him good?"_ he asked in the sweet voice that he only uses for me.

"Drew a little blood when I bit him." As an afterthought, "Drew a lot of blood when he ripped his arm outta my mouth." I smiled as I remembered Emmett saying the exact same thing. That's my girl!

_"Aw, I'm so proud!"_ he said._ "Is that what made today 'better than expected'?" _he asked curiously.

"Nope," I popped the 'p'. "His blood made my mouth taste bad," I whined.

_"Well...?"_ His voice dropped lower and I knew he was going to get it out of my soon enough. Might as well get it over with.

"I met someone..." I listened for a minute and heard My Chemical Romance blasting from his earbuds. "Interesting." Knowing Claude would want to meet him, I added, "If things move along smoothly, maybe I'll bring him to work sometime."

_"Promise?"_ he asked sweetly. _"Emmett gets to see him."_ He reminded me furtively.

"Fine, I promise." I sighed. "Are you near Phil's place or do I need to ditch school to feed Valentyne?" I asked.

_"Sorry Sweetheart, I'm at work overlooking some of your 'chores,'"_ he sighed this time. _"I don't know how you do it. Especially being blind," _he added._ "All of us put together can't keep up."_

"Try not to overwork yourselves too much. Leave the ghost work to the Ghost. I'll be back as soon as I can," I reasoned. "School's from eight 'til quarter after three, so I can basically keep my regular work hours."

_"You really should take yourself into consideration as well, Ghost,"_ he warned. _"I'd hate for you to work yourself to death. The agency-and I-need you in one piece Sweetheart."_ I heard a loud crash followed by a long string of profanities.

_"Jasmine had a little spill,"_ Claude explained._ "I need to help. Catch ya later, Sweets!"_

"Good luck," I said before I hung up.

Now I had to figure out how to get home to feed Valentyne. I gave no-name a tap on the shoulder to let him know I was done. The music cut off and his weight shifted on the seat.

"How are things?" he asked. "You look worried."

"They're... busy." I decided. "I need to get out of here to feed Valentyne." The second part was mostly to myself.

"Valentine?" He inquired.

"Valentyne's my pet," I explained. "I call him Ty, too, so it's spelled with a 'y' instead of an 'i'." He didn't need all the extra information, but it wouldn't hurt anyone either.

"So you want to ditch to feed him?" I could hear the smile in his voice.

"Basically. I don't have a way to get home though. Give me a ride?" I asked sweetly.

"Sounds good," he said. "When do we leave? I've been itching to get outta here since homeroom."

"Excellent!" I noticed that the rain had subsided as we stepped out of the backseat to move to the front. Hopefully, that was a good sign.

**Hope you liked the chapter! Let me know what you think of Claude. You'll be seeing more of him. Before anyone asks, Claude and Bella are NOT together. In the next chapter, you'll get to meet Valentyne. **

**Thanks to those of you who reviewed, favorited, and subscribed to OOSOOM thus far. I hope for more reviews for this chapter too! :D**


	4. Meet My Valentyne

**Sorry in advance for this chapter's shortness. I wanted to get it up sooner rather than later. I've gotten questions about Bella's job, too. All I'll tell you is that it's important to the story, so I'm not giving it away in the beginning.**

**Meet My Valentyne**

Unbelievable. I thought that maybe Bella would shake things up a little because of the, ah, _incident _in homeroom, but this is insane. One minute, I'm walking to my car for lunch. The next, I'm talking to her under a tree in the pouring rain. Before I know it, I'm driving to Bella's house so she can feed her pet Valentyne. It's not that I'm mad about it, or that I've never ditched school before. I've just never ditched _with_, let alone _for_, someone. The idea is usually to get _away_ from everyone.

Not today. Today I'm going to drive Bella-a girl I met around thirty minutes ago-to her house so she can feed her cat... or whatever it is. When I asked, she said she 'wants to surprise me.' I wasn't sure whether to be amused by that or edgy.

"So," I started. "Why are you in such a hurry to feed your cat?" Maybe if I guess right, she'll tell me. "I know school sucks, but there were only two or three hours left," I joked.

Her lips twitched up. "No, It's not a cat," she answered. "Valentyne's a sweetie, but if he doesn't get fed before one everyday..." Her voice drifted off.

"Should I be concerned?" I asked warily.

"What time is it?"

I glanced at the clock on my dash. 12:45. "Quarter to one."

"We're almost there, right?" she questioned.

"Yeah." Can't she tell?

"We'll be fine. It only takes a minute to get the fruit," Bella said.

Fruit? What is it, a parrot? Do parrots even eat fruit? The last few minutes of the drive were spent in comfortable silence as I contemplated all the possible animals.

I parked in front of the 'little house with the big tree in back that has a swing hanging from it.' The house itself wasn't all that small. Sure it wasn't that wide, but it was two stories tall. Bella's directions had been a bit... odd. Instead of using street names, she used things like numbers of blocks and houses, groups of trees, and a pole that had gotten hit by a truck... Then, she'd ask me when I was past certain points. I didn't read into it much. She was new in town and may not know her way around... Although that would contradict her rather specific directions.

Bella led me into her house and straight to the kitchen. She grabbed a big bowl and started filling it full of random fruits.

I listened carefully for a squawk but the house was dead silent aside from Bella's footsteps on the hardwood floor.

Bella started toward the door, then stopped mid-step. She turned on her heel and walked toward the refrigerator. I figured she was after more fruit until she climbed on top of the counter.

"Do you need any help?" I asked. She had the fruit bowl tucked under one arm as she opened the cabinet door above the fridge.

"Sure." Bella ducked under the door and handed me the fruit. "Hold this a minute." She turned back to the cabinet and fished out a flashlight. _What the hell? _She hopped off the counter and held out the flashlight. "Switch?"  
I thought it best not to argue. Bella seemed to know what she was doing, while I was still clueless. "Might want to make sure that works." She gestured to the flashlight.

I clicked it on. "It works." But why do I need it?

"Good." She tucked the bowl back under her arm and grabbed my wrist. "You're going to need it." Bella gave my arm a little tug and I obediently followed. If I wasn't curious before, I was now.

We walked on to the end of a dimly lit hallway and stopped at a closed door. Bella turned to me and said, "Try to keep the flashlight low. Ty wouldn't want the light in his face." That worried me a little. Ty must be pretty big if I have to keep the light _low_.

Bella nudged the door open, revealing a narrow staircase that made a sharp left turn after the first ten steps. I felt like I was walking into a horror movie as Bella cautiously descended the staircase, pulling me with her. Music floated through the air, a haunting voice singing words I couldn't understand.

After the turn, the flashlight caught something on the steps: Emmett's football cleat, apparently. There were a few other objects scattered about. I vaguely wondered how Bella managed to walk down here without a flashlight-in the pitch black-without tripping over anything and falling down the stairs. I'd stumbled twice. _With_ the flashlight. Luckily Bella's grip on my wrist helped me keep balanced.

"Val-en-_tyne_," Bella called sweetly. "I brought lunch." She pulled me to another door on the right. "Sorry to wake yo up." Aren't _wolves_ nocturnal?

The volume of the music increased as the door creaked open.

Suddenly a flapping noise filled the air followed by a _thump_ and a "Gah!" Then I was on the floor. The flashlight had rolled out of my hand when I fell, so I couldn't see a thing.

"_This _is why no one ever wants to feed you." Bella's voice was right above me. Then I realized it was because she was _on top of me_!

She sat up and shifted so she was _straddling _my _chest_. I was endlessly thankful that she couldn't see me.

"Are you okay?" she asked.

"Never better."

"Oh!" She jerked in surprise. I swear, much more and I would've had a heart attack. "I must weigh a ton! Sorry!" Bella rolled off me and grabbed my hands, pulling me up.

Hardly, I thought. My math book probably outweighs her. "What _was_ that?"

"Valentyne," she answered. "He sure knows how to make an entrance," she said sarcastically. "Little klutz."

I bent over for the flashlight. "So when do I get to see him?"

"Right now." There was an audible _click_ and the top light came on dim. I looked around and discovered we were in a bedroom. The music I'd heard came from an iHome sitting on the bookshelf across the room full of books in Braille. Weird. The walls were dark purple and the carpet black, along with the sheets on the bed. I noticed that the fruit bowl was sitting on the dresser a foot away. Bella had managed to set it down before being tackled by Valentyne. Which reminds me...

"Where is he?" I didn't see him anywhere. Bella turned from the light switch on the wall by us and I nearly jumped out of my skin.

Clinging upside down to her shirt-our hoodies were in my car-was a black bat the size of my head. That would explain the flapping I'd heard. Wolves eat_ meat, _I reminded myself.

Valentyne looked up at me and made a noise somewhere between a chirp and a screech before leaping onto my shirt.

"Aw! He likes you!" Bella grabbed the bowl from the dresser and my wrist and walked over to her bed. There, the three of us enjoyed a lunch of assorted fruits. This year was going to be much more interesting then I'd ever anticipated.

**Thanks for reading. From messages I've gotten, people thought Valentyne was either a big dog, a tarantula, or a cat. Let me know what you guys were thinking. I found the tarantula idea interesting... Review please.**


	5. Don't Call Me That

**Three Quick Things:**

**1) People have been asking about Bella's job, so here you go. This won't explain everything, but it'll give you an idea of how things work.**

**2) This chapter is when the hurt/comfort label comes into play. You've been warned.**

**3) I'm not a fan of this chapter, so if it sucks, I'm fully aware of it.**

**Don't Call Me That **

"You're looking a little better," Phil said.

"Only a little?" I pouted.

The first day of school had been utter chaos. Between the rumors-some of which were partially true- and the amount of people in such a small space, I thought I'd lose it. My lack of sleep didn't help either. I had a nocturnal sleeping pattern for around six years-I work at night-so functioning during the day is proving itself a bit difficult.

Luckily Jasper found me napping under that tree during lunch. I was thankful for the break-and the chance to feed Valentyne. I was positive it was Jasper after I fell on top of him in my room;he was wearing skinny jeans. _'Are those pants tight enough for you?'_ Going back to school sucked though.

_"Like, OMG! Did you just, like, ditch lunch with the _emo kid_?" Guess who?_

_"Yeah. She, like, _really_ needed a break from all the drama," Jasper said from behind me. My lips twitched up up at his word choice._

_I felt Lauren jump. Did she honestly not notice Jasper was _right behind me_? He's a foot taller, so it's not as if I was hiding him. _

_Lauren stomped away after a pathetic _hmph_._

_"Thanks," I smiled up at him, making sure my bags didn't move. "Her voice bothers my ears," I added unnecessarily._

_"No problem, but that reminds me." I heard him fish through his backpack and pull something out. "Mind if I look at your schedule?"_

_Scenarios began floating through my head, all of which ending badly. It's not as if I could _look_ through my bag and _see_ if I have the right paper. Panic bubbled in the pit of my stomach until I realized, "I have it memorized."_

"Bella," Emmett called. I jerked in surprise. We were sitting in the living room. I was in my chair, and Emmett-from what I could tell-had the couch. What are you thinking about?"

"How this is only the first day of the next three years of my life," I replied dryly.

"You seemed _pretty_ happy coming back from lunch with-" I threw a pillow in his face before he could finish.

"With _who_?" Phil asked from his recliner across the coffee table.

I tilted my head back with a sigh. No use in trying to stop them now. Once those two get started, there's no ending it until all the information-or gossip-is out there.

"Jasper Whitlock!" Emmett was far too excited about this. "He brought her _home_ for lunch so she could feed Valentyne!"

"_Really?_" I didn't like Phil's tone. "What _else_ did you do?" Again with the tone.

"Ate fruit," I replied sardonically. "Honestly, who do you take me for? Emmett?"

"Hey!" he shouted, then turned back to Phil. "You know she picked a fight with Rosie in homeroom?" He quickly changed the subject.

"Shut up, Emmett! You know she started it," I pointed out.

"Yeah. She was all,'Jasper go cut yourself.' And you were all, 'Aren't you being judgmental?' And she was like, 'Look at him!'"

"And then you were like, 'Ah ha ha! Bella is b-'" I cut off mid-sentence as Emmett had.

"You didn't actually _tell_ them, did you Emmett?" Phil asked horrified.

"Of course not!"

"I cut him off," I clarified.

"Scaring the hell out of anyone within a three classroom radius," Emmett added.

"I'd rather they fear me than figure me out."

"Do you think anyone noticed?" Phil inquired.

They wouldn't notice if I wore I _name tag_." Then I remembered the girl from music. "Actually..." Alice had seemed a bit... odd. I felt uneasy with her, like she knew something.

"Alice?" Emmett suggested.

I scowled. If even _Emmett_ noticed, maybe I _should_ be concerned. "You think so too?" I asked.

"She's one of my friends." Great. "Alice is nice, but she's really observant. You'll have to be careful," he said.

XxXxXxXxXxXxXxXx

The next day was much worse. I was well-rested, so I had more energy to use freaking myself out. Needless to say, I was an edgy mess.

Second hour was music class. Unlike yesterday, Alice talked to me nonstop. I wasn't sure how to take that. She could be fishing for information, judging my reactions. On the other hand, she may have brushed off anything she picked up on yesterday.

"We're going to be the best friends ever!" She stated it with a certainty that made my mind reel. "We should go shopping together this weekend!" She said the 's' word!

"But... _Why?_" I almost whined. I hoped I didn't look as pathetic as I sounded.

"I'm going to find you a bunch of clothes that will turn some heads. You're going to look _fabulous_!"

"I _don't want_ to look fabulous. And I already turn heads." Just not in the way _you're_ after. "Besides, I'm more interested in practicalities than appearances." I am not about to wear some girly, foo-foo clothes. I'd be a laughing stock! I worked hard to get my reputation at the agency. Hell will freeze, thaw out, then freeze again ten times over before I let my work go to waste.

"Fine. Then explain to me what's so practical about this." She lifted my arm. Today I was wearing a long-sleeved button-up shirt with spiked bracelets over the sleeves.

"If I were to get attacked, I could backhand them and cause a decent amount of damage," I explained with a smile.

"O-_kay_. What about the skinny jeans?" I couldn't exactly tell her that it's harder to sense movement when my clothes are shuffling around.

"They're comfortable."

"And the _boots_?" she asked pointedly.

Today I was wearing my steel-toed combat boots, my pride and joy. Oh, the messes they've gotten me out of... "They have their uses," I answered vaguely.

Our conversation went on the rest of class; the teacher didn't feel like teaching today. I never _did_ manage to shake off that edgy feeling.

XxXxXxXxXxXxXxXx

With a resigned sigh, I walked into precalculus. It wasn't the subject I had a problem with; it was the teacher. Mr. Hubert McKinley was more than just a nerdy, bald math teacher. He was one of my father's agents. Phil's agents, for the most part, are friendly and enjoyable to be around. Not Hubert.

I don't know what crawled up the man's butt and died, but the sadistic side of me can't help but hope it burns like hell itself. The narcissistic portion often wonders if it's partially my doing.

You see, my father is the director of one of the top government agencies in the country, Ghost. As the name suggests, Ghost is low-profile and all but unheard of. Aro is the co-director. He's an old, retired scientist famous for his work in genetic engineering. Charismatic as he may seem, the guy freaks me out. I don't know if it's him, or his past career that worries me, but I don't like him.

Then there's me. I'm the Ghost of Ghost, as Phil puts it. In my opinion, being the Ghost of Ghost is the hardest-and possibly most important-position in the entire organization. I'm involved in behind the scenes things like mission planning as well as field work.

I also go on what I like to call Blind Lead Trips, a sort of reconnaissance. I get to explore creepy, suspicious, often decaying buildings for any illegal activity. The ones that are involved in illegal activity are usually dark, under surveillance-not by us-and riddled with dangerous traps. I don't have to worry about lighting-or lack thereof-since I can't see anyway. My other senses are unnaturally heightened, so I'm able to avoid traps and security equipment and cameras.

The Ghost's main job is to handpick and train the agents that show the most potential for a kind of "accelerated program" of sorts. The Ghost's circle helps in training and BLTs. Ha ha.

Hubert heard about the circle when he joined the organization, but didn't have what it takes. The guy's hated me since I turned him down.

"Everyone sit down and open your books to page twenty-five," Hubert commanded.

I couldn't control the nagging suspicion that he was planning something as he droned on about cubed roots. It wasn't long until he confirmed it.

"Isabella, could you please tell us the answer to the question?"

"Bella, please," I reminded him as politely as I could manage. That was two low blows in one sentence. Everyone-including him-knew I hated the name. He also knew I was blind. All of my teachers did. I'd been listening the entire time, and he'd never even asked a question. He must've written it on the board, knowing I couldn't see it.

"In my classroom, we use our proper names, Isabella," he replied. Now if you would answer the question."

"What question?" He knew I couldn't read it. The jerk was setting me up to fail.

"The one right in front of you," he shot back. "I just wrote it on the board."

"You know I can't read that," I spat. My testiness was beginning to show. I was getting a bit _upset_.

"Did someone forget her glasses at home?" he asked condescendingly. "Seeing is very important, you know. How do you expect to get anywhere in life without decent vision? You're useless without it." _'You're lucky you're smart you useless little brat.'_

I forced back the wave of emotion and replied without missing a beat. "Did someone forget his brain in the teachers' lounge? Thinking is very important. You're nothing more than a vegetable without it. Utterly useless." I spoke in a soothing, almost motherly tone that completely contradicted my childish comeback as I rose from my chair. I needed to get out of there. Quickly. I could all but hear my emotional dam cracking under the pressure.

"Isabella, go to the principle's office. _Now!_" he bellowed.

"You bet your nonexistent hair I will!" I replied coldly.

"It's a wig?" a girl shouted in shock. I wasn't aware he had one until she pointed it out. On the bright side, the students have a new target for their gossip now.

"See you after school, Hubert," I called sarcastically on my way out the door.

I made it outside and to my tree just in time. The dam broke and my emotions crashed over me like a tidal wave. The wind and rain blew around me as I curled into a tight ball and rocked back and forth beside my bag. My eyes burned, my skin tingled as if it were being pricked by millions of needles. My breathing grew ragged as I struggled to breath. My head swam, mind overrun with raw emotion and voices of unpleasant memories.

Through the chaos, I thought I heard my bag move.

The wind broke as something warm settled in next to me. It wrapped itself around me and I was soon engulfed in it. The voices and emotions and stinging and burning slowly drifted away, leaving me in the warmth, listening to the rain.

**I assume you know what-or rather who-the 'warmth' was. It may seem a bit overdramatic now, but it will make more sense later. I think. If you review, I'll give you a little information about Bella's... uh..._ background. _The story will make more sense as I put more information out there.**


	6. Skip Calculus Tuesday

**Just so you know, there's some cussing in this chapter. You've been warned, so you can't complain about it. -.-**

**Skip Calculus Tuesday**

So much happened yesterday that I managed to fall asleep early. I was in bed before eleven! The down side to falling asleep early is waking up at this ungodly hour. Now it's _five in the morning,_ and I'm _awake_. I decided to kill time by making up a holiday. After about ten minutes, I had it! Skip Calculus Tuesday! Once a month, I'll ditch second hour and take a nap or eat Taco Bell or something. _Today's_ Tuesday... I'll have to skip breakfast this morning.

After an hour or so, I was bored. I rolled out of bed and got ready for school. Clothes? Check. Hair? Sorta check. Eyeliner? Secret check. Homework? Crap! No... we didn't have any. Check. I wandered the house aimlessly until my stomach growled. Guess I'm eating breakfast after all.

I thought back to yesterday as I munched on leftover pizza. Once we'd gotten back to school, Bella and I ran into Lauren, the wannabe queen bee(yotch). She was as obnoxious and dimwitted as ever. She didn't even notice I was right in front of her until I said something. Luckily, I scared her off.

Bella told me her schedule. 'Told' being the operative word. I didn't have a problem with it, but it seemed weird. She seemed a little panicky when I asked to see it. Her schedule must've gotten lost or something. On the bright side, we have History and Homeroom together.

I tossed my plate in the sink. Now what? Then I saw it. The coffee maker. I'd never had any before, so I figured I might as well try it. After a while, I _finally_ figured out how to work the stupid thing. After getting a cup, I just sat and stared at it. What's so appealing about a strong smelling cup of hot liquid? I shrugged to myself and took a sip, then rushed to spit it out in the sink. _Holy freaking hell!_ It was disgusting! I dumped most of it out and replaced it with milk and sugar. _Never_ again, I thought as I walked out the door.

XxXxXxXxXxXxXxXx

Homeroom was... different. No one cracked any jokes or made any comments as I walked into class. Bella was sitting in the seat next to mine, not saying anything.

"Hey, Bella," I said as I sat down. I wasn't sure if she was awake or not. Her head was up, but her eyes were still covered up.

Bella jerked in surprise when she heard me. "Oh... Hi Jasper." She relaxed after a minute.

"Rough night?" I guessed.

"Not rough _enough_," she shook her head. What was that supposed to mean? Hormonal teenager thoughts began to fill my mind until Bella explained. "I got too much sleep. Normally I'm up and moving most of the night."

"Oh." I guess that makes more sense since she has a_ bat _for a pet. Bella hasn't been in town long enough to know anyone anyway.

"You seem to have a lot more energy than yesterday," she pointed out.

"Too much sleep. I tried coffee this morning too." Big mistake on my part.

"That explains it." She ran her hands through her thick, dark hair. It seemed a little wilder today. I vaguely noticed some of the students watching us. There'd probably be more prying eyes if Bella hadn't scared the living hell out of them all yesterday. It was awesome.

Our conversation ended when the teacher walked in. The rest of class was spent listening to announcements and filling out papers. Well, Bella didn't. She left before the papers were passed out. I wasn't sure what that was about.

XxXxXxXxXxXxXxXx

Alice single-handedly drained me of all my energy in Latin. I was exhausted by the time Calculus rolled around. I was really looking froward to getting out of here. I trudged into the rain and to my car. The weather was almost worse than yesterday's. It wasn't raining as hard, but the heavy wind definitely made up for it. It was freakin _cold! _

Like yesterday, I threw my hoodie over one of the vents sat down in the back, leaning against the door. I listened to my iPod and watched as the rain splatted against the back window.

After maybe twenty minutes, I thought I saw something moving through the rain. It was obviously a person. I wrote it off as just another kid ditching, but they weren't going toward the parking lot. Who in their right mind would walk around outside alone in the middle of a downpour, myself excluded. _Bella?_ She wouldn't really do that, would she?

My curiosity got the better of me and I slipped on my still-wet hoodie. I stalked over to the tree I'd seen her at yesterday, and there she was. Unlike yesterday, she wasn't exactly _napping_. Bella was curled up in a little ball, shaking and rocking back and forth. I could hear her heavy breathing over the rain. That's saying something.

"Bella?" I whispered. I wasn't sure if I should say anything or not.

Either she didn't hear anything or she ignored me because she was still in her little ball, rocking and gasping for air. I crouched down next to her, trying to get a glimpse of her face.

Bella was pale as a ghost. She had her hands knotted in her hair, soaked with rain. The wind was blowing so hard that the tree wasn't blocking much of anything. I still couldn't see her eyes; they were squeezed shut.

With a sigh, I put my arm around her shoulders and pulled her into my lap. Hopefully, that'll block some of the wind... She'd stopped rocking after I'd sat next to her, which was a start. The sooner Bella comes around, the sooner we can get out of the rain. I didn't like how unnaturally pale she looked. I tucked Bella's head under my chin and waited-albeit impatiently-for her to calm down

Thirtyish minutes later she was basically back to normal, I think. I don't really know what is classified as 'normal', and what isn't. She has a pet bat. She isn't afraid to talk down to anyone_-Rosalie-_if she deems it necessary. Not to mention, she got in a car with a stranger and had him-me-_take her to her house. _Who does that? Didn't her parents- Oh. That's right. Had I seen my parents killed in a bloody car wreck, I'd probably be a bit different, myself.

My thoughts were interrupted by Bella as she reached blindly-her eyes were still closed-toward her bag. I wasn't sure what she was after, so I pulled it into her reach. She reached into her bag and pulled out her vibrating cellphone. How did she _hear_ it?

Bella flipped it open and put it to her ear-which, unfortunately, was right next to mine. I wasn't sure whether or not she knew I was here, but I figured now may be a bad time to ask.

"What?" she said. _No Hello?_ I halfheartedly tried not to listen. On one side, eavesdropping is rude, and I'd rather keep on her good side. On the other, I was dying of curiosity. I still didn't know why she was out here to begin with.

I couldn't hear the other end, but I guess that's a good thing. If she asks, I can honestly say I didn't hear anything.

"If you thought I'd be in class, why did you call?" She didn't sound upset, just curious. After a minute, she sighed. "Just a little spat. Nothing to freak out over." _What fight? Is that why she was out here?_

I could hear them a little now; they were getting louder. "No, no. This wasn't her fault. Want a hint?" She sounded like she was teasing whoever was talking to her. Weird thing to joke about, a fight.

"Male..." She waited for them to narrow down the assumed suspects. "Teacher..." They must've figured it out, because there was a loud

_"WHAT?"_ Well, now I know it's a guy she's talking to. Bella yanked the phone away from her ear. _"HIM? DID THAT SON OF A BITCH-_"

"Claude," Bella sighed. _Her work buddy?_

_"SCREW WITH YOU AGAIN? I SWEAR, IF HE TRIED TO BLOW YOUR COVER I'LL-"_

"Claude?" Bella tried again.

_"MAKE THAT POOR EXCUSE FOR A HUMAN BEING GROW A PAIR JUST SO I CAN RIP THEM OFF AND MAKE HIM _EAT THEM!_" _Bella pulled away from my chest, still in my lap. She wasn't pale anymore. She was bright red! _"THEN I'LL PEEL HIS SKIN OFF, SQUARE INCH BY SQUARE INCH, AND-"_

Bella took a deep breath. She brought the phone back to her and yelled directly into it. "CLAUDE!" He stopped ranting and waited for her to continue. "It's okay. He didn't give anything away. Just used my, um, handicap against me." She leaned by into my chest. The phone was close enough to my ear that I could hear his response.

_"So no one knows you're blind, then?"_ Bella flinched, and I sat dumbfounded. She _is_ blind? How did she manage to get her locker open and find her classes? She's more coordinated than_ I_ am!

"That class wouldn't have noticed if I had walked in with my _eyes_ _uncovered_," she replied tactfully.

"Good. But what did he do, Sweetheart?" he asked calmly. _Sweetheart?_

Bella relayed the entire conversation to Claude-and me. I_ really _hoped she knew I was there. Bella hadn't acknowledged me in any way, but she did flinch when Claude asked her about the blind thing. That could've been because she knew I could hear him. I felt like I knew _way too much_. It made me think of those action movies where a guy hears more than he should, so the bad guys feel that they have to off him.

Still, I was pretty irked about what happened. Why would anyone want to pick on a blind girl? A teacher, no less. It's just petty.

_"So... Do I get a shot at him, Sweetie?"_ Claude asked._ "Please? He needs a good ass kicking!" _Was he honestly planning to_ beat up a teacher?_

"Ngh. Fine. You know the rules though."

_"Aw, come on! You're too nice for your own good, Sweetheart,"_ he groaned. _"He crossed the line, so shouldn't I get a little wiggle room?"_ Claude asked sweetly.

"If you _insist._ We'll talk about it later." She didn't seem to need much persuading... "Are you going to bed, or do you have a little time?"

_"I have an hour. Ty need to be fed?"_ he guessed.

"Yeah. You don't mind, do you?"

_"Not at all. Consider it a thankyou for bending the rules," _he chuckled.

"Anything for _you_," she replied sarcastically. "Thanks, though."

_"No problem. I'm going to feed your rat with wings," _Claude joked. _"Are you going to work tonight? It may still be a bit soon."_

"I'll be there. I can take over the night's FTL group and blow off some steam."

_"Good idea. While we're on the topic,"_ he added mischievously, _"When are you going to bring that Jasper kid to work with you?" _Bella slapped a hand over her face. _"What was that?"_ Claude asked.

"Nothing." She tried dodging the first question. I wondered vaguely how much she said about me. It hasn't even been a full twenty four hours since we met.

_"As for the first question...?"_ he pushed.

"I don't_ know!_" I couldn't see her-she was hiding her face against my chest-but I could tell she was flustered. Not that I wouldn't be. I would die of embarrassment if our roles were switched.

_"Alright. I'll stop picking on you, Sweetheart. I'll see you at work tonight, then?"_

"Yeah. Eight, right?"

_"Mm hm. Later, Sweetie."_

"Later." Bella flipped her phone shut and put it back in her bag.

We sat in silence until Bella finally said something. "Didn't see that coming, did you?" She asked. She still hadn't made a move to get up, but she was probably just worn out.

"Not really. Mind if I ask a few follow-up questions?" I asked. I wasn't sure how sensitive the subject was.

"Fire away. I figured this would happen eventually. To be honest, I'm a bit disappointed."

"Why's that?" I asked warily. I knew it! I heard too much!

"You learned about it via cellphone less than twenty-four hours after we met." She crossed her arms and pouted.

"How did you _want_ me to find out?" I asked curiously. She wasn't disappointed that I found out. She was disappointed about _how _I found out.

"I don't know. It's just so..._ boring_. _Normal_, maybe?" She uncrossed her arms. "Important information shouldn't be discovered in boring, normal, _expected_ ways. I guess it I wish it would've been more exciting." Bella shrugged. That made sense. I guess.

"Well," I started. "How were you able to get your locker open?"

"It makes an almost inaudible _click_ when you get to the right number," she explained.

"How do you know where your classes are?" I continued.

"Don't tell anyone," she warned. "Emmett took me to the school one night and I paced around the grounds to get a feel for where everything was. I count steps, too," she added as an afterthought.

"What about room numbers?"

"There's Braille written under the regular writing." Bella pointed out. "I checked all the room numbers while I was pacing."

I continued firing off questions for quite a while. We'd taken the conversation to my car like we did yesterday, so we were dry by the time lunch rolled around. We didn't go back into the school until after lunch ended.

Apparently, Bella had caused quite an uproar because all of Hell seemed to had broken loose since I left. Girls were in their little groups gossiping about the math teacher's fake hair and the scene Bella was a part of during second hour. A few guys tried to give her high-fives as she walked down the halls, pulling me with her.

Emmett's booming laugh filled the hallway as he fell into step beside me and Bella. "I hear you put Hubert in his place!"

"That I did. Claude's going to rough him up at work tonight, too." Her smile could freeze Hell itself. "Are you going to want a round?" she asked.

"Hell yeah!" Emmett pumped his fist in the air. "You comin'?" he asked me. That was a bit... surprising. Emmett had never talked to me before, and now he was inviting me to watch someone get beat up with him?

"You can if you want," Bella reassured me when I didn't answer.

"I guess so, then." This school year is getting more and more interesting by the minute. I love Skip Calculus Tuesday!

**There you have it. Jasper knows that Bella is blind. I wasn't planning on that happening so soon, but oh well. You got to see Claude again, too. I think I might do a chapter in Claude's POV for when he gets a go at Hubert... But I haven't decided that for sure.** **If I get 10 reviews saying you want it, I guess I'll give it to you.**


	7. Who is That?

**This is the long-awaited (sorry about that) Claude chapter! :3 Hopefully the length will make up for how long the wait was...**

**Who _is_ That?**

Work was _Hell_! I don't care if I'm a weapons and technology expert. After last night, I feel like a complete amateur. It took me four hours to figure out Bella's damn laptop. I've figured out complex security systems in half that time. Her case filing system is beyond bizarre. It took hours of searching and skimming to figure out they were in order of importance, then manpower. Has she not heard of the alphabet? All the cases have names.

Once I figured that out, I glanced through her emails and found she'd been given a surprise BLT. Really? The director knew she wouldn't be here for a few nights, so why? I hope to God her assignments aren't always this short notice.

I knew she'd come in if I told her about the assignment, so I didn't. I'd tell her once it was done and fill her in on the details. So I, being the genius that I am, decided to do it myself. Bad idea. That—in my case, Not So Blind Lead Trip—was brutal.

No one caught me, thank God, but it was definitely the worst NSBLT I've been on. This place was like a cult. The building itself was was old and seemingly deserted, but candles lit the halls and rooms. I easily dodged the very minimal security—a few stray cameras—like Bella taught me and made my way down to the basement.

I stood in the shadows and watched the young children move around the dark, dingy room. They stared absently, whispered, and threw broken toys into a fire they'd made on the cement floor with sticks and small tree branches. Cardboard boxes laid sideways along the brick walls with thin blankets and old clothes lumped together for pillows.

Still unnoticed, I made my way back up the steps and into the kitchen. Cabinet doors hung from rusted hinges, some missing all together. Rats scampered across the floor, under a lop-sided, three-legged table. Dust and dirt coated the floors and counter tops. The refrigerator had been torn from it's place; stray wires stuck out of the wall where it would've been. On the stove top were rusted pots and pans, along with what looked like marijuana leaves. Drugs and children. Great.

After I memorized the layout of the building, general amount of people, and a lengthy list of violations, I made my way out. As much as I wanted to take those kids with me, I knew I couldn't handle everything all by myself. My job was to get information and send the right amount of the right people needed. Bella's filing system was beginning to make sense. How can she handle this? Twice a week, no less. The girl has nerves of steel.

By the time I was back at Ghost, it was after five in the morning. Jasmine, my partner, had fallen asleep with her head on her open laptop. She'd been typing something when she fell asleep, so—ironically enough—she had well over thirty five pages of "zzzzzz." She must've fallen asleep a while ago.

I brushed her white—not blond—hair out of the way and carefully lifted her head, pulling the laptop from under it. Jasmine hadn't actually typed anything—z's aside—so I closed the document and shut down her laptop before giving her a little nudge.

"Five thirty, Angelface. Rise and shine." I wasn't about to leave her there.

She jerked, then sat straight up. "Five thirty?"

"You fell asleep typing something," I explained, tucking her laptop under my arm. Her bright eyes were wide with confusion.

"Five thirty?" She repeated. "When did that happen?" She's so cute when she's confused.

I glanced at my watch. "A couple of minutes ago. Ready to get some real sleep?" I asked. No way was I going to let her drive herself home half asleep. Not that I wasn't, but still. This was the second night we'd taken on Ghost duty. Obviously we weren't prepared, physically or mentally. We'd barely gotten through half the things we were supposed to these past couple nights. Bella makes it look far too easy.

Jasmine and I got our stuff together and left. We had our own little room with Bella and Carlisle—doctor by day, agent by night—so we didn't have to worry about locking our desks up.

After dropping Jasmine at her place and arriving home, I all but collapsed into bed. Soon the familiar gray walls of my bedroom were replaced with a thick wall of trees. They towered high above me, their branches twisting together in a tangled web. There were very few leaves dangling from the trees. Most had already changed color and blown away in the cool breeze of late October. I watched as a bright red leaf fell and floated slowly toward me in the breeze.

I was standing in the middle of a clearing. The wind picked up and leaves danced around me as I took everything in. The branches above were tangled so thick that sunlight was unable to shine through, assuming it was actually daytime. The poor lighting and rustling leaves made the atmosphere almost ominous. Every shadow cast by the swaying branches and dancing leaves seemed suspicious. Still this place felt unfamiliar.

After the wind died down and the leaves settled, I realized I wasn't alone. A mere ten feet away laid a young brunette. She appeared to be around ten years old. Her face was hidden by her thick, dark hair, but I knew exactly who she was.

Bella slept soundly on her side, curled into a little ball along the far edge of the clearing. I watched silently as the ten-year-old version of Bella rolled lazily onto her stomach in her sleep. Never had I seen her this peaceful, and in such an eerie, strange place. On the other hand, I knew better than to believe Bella let her guard down long enough to to take a peaceful little catnap.

I was proven right just seconds later when a resounding _snap_ echoed through the trees. Immediately, Bella was on her feet and moving at a breakneck speed into the woods. I trailed behind as she glided through the maze of trees as if it were second nature.

She moves differently, I noticed vaguely. Bella's run seemed almost animalistic. She stayed low to the ground, twisting and turning through the trees, never once losing her footing. Suddenly, Bella sprung into the air. She caught herself on a branch and flipped onto the one next to it. I immediately recognized her stunt from one of the obstacle courses she created for Ghost. _Was Bella _born_ with springs in her feet, or have to work for them?_

Bella continued her run without missing a beat. The vast majority of the branches were twisted together so thick she could run across them. Others, she jumped. How Bella knew the difference without being able to see is beyond me. I followed from the ground until she stopped a few minutes later.

Piles of leaves on either side of me began to rustle as Bella stood with foot dangling off the branch. Her hair blew wildly around her as she dropped and landed gracefully on the balls of her feet. Bella jerked her head and made a peculiar noise in the back of her throat as she stalked forward. It sounded like a groan and a huff mixed together.

Out of the leaves came a couple of russet-colored wolves. They followed silently, flanking Bella. _She knows wolfspeak?_ I watched in awe until I was interrupted by a loud "Freeze!"

Bella spun to the side, simultaneously falling into a crouch. The wolves followed her lead, baring their teeth. The hair on the wolves' backs stood on end as they gave a vicious warning growl.

A man in his late thirties appeared just ahead, and I quickly recognized him as Phil. His short, dark hair looked nearly the same as it does now, give or take a quarter of an inch. I watched quietly as he took in the scene before him: a young, frightened girl alone in a forest with a couple of wolves. Not exactly a good picture.

Phil looked nothing short of horrified as he slowly reached toward, wanting to "save her" no doubt. Bella cringed back and the wolves leaped in front of her, snapping at Phil's outstretched hand.

Phil yanked his hand back and eyed the wolves warily. "I'm not going to hurt you," he said soothingly. Bella only stepped back and growled. The wolves took a step forward, snapping and snarling.

"English?" Phil asked desperately. Bella huffed, but didn't make a move. "Shit. Uh... I'm Phil McCarty. Rumor has it a serial rapist and murderer was seen somewhere in this forest." Bella cocked her head. "Murderer... Um... kills people... dead..." He wracked his brain for a better explanation.

After "dead", Bella perked up and waved the wolves off with a simple "Go." They took one more snap for good measure before melting into the trees. Bella jerked her head to the right before she took off.

"Wait!" Phil called. Bella stopped long enough for Phil to catch up before she continued her swift run. Minutes later, Bella stopped on the edge of a cliff. Before Phil could stop her, she jumped. "No!" he yelled. "I didn't mean you were supposed to be dead!" He shouted desperately.

"Dead!" Bella called back. Phil looked over the edge of the cliff and gawked at the sight below him. Bella was sitting on a ten foot ledge pointing to the_ corpse _lying face down next to her. The body once belonged to a bulky man in his thirties. He had honey-blond hair and bone white skin. His bloodied torso was covered in stab wounds and bruises. Bulging from the pocket of his ripped jeans was a butchers' knife. "Kills people," Bella stated. Phil had found his serial killer.

XxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxX

I woke with a jolt around ten. My three, four hours of sleep had been consumed by stories I'd heard about Bella's past.

Giving up on sleep, I rolled out of bed and made my way to the living room. I collapsed onto the couch with a heavy sigh and stared at the blank tv screen. It wasn't broken; I just didn't feel like reaching for the remote. That's what Bella would see, I thought as I stared at the dark, empty screen.

I turned the news on and closed my eyes, taking half of it in.

_Another shooting took place in downtown Port Angeles early this morning._

The reporter's voice was official, somewhat uncaring. He didn't know the victim or their family. Just spreading the news.

_A young teen—whose name hasn't yet been released—was taken to a local hospital. The teen's current condition is unknown. Now back to the weather with..._

Bella could listen until she bleeds from the ears. She does. But she'll never see any of it. Images of the children in that basement filled my mind once again. Bella will never see them. She knows they are there, how many there are, how big or small they are, but nothing more. She can't see the dirt on their faces, in their hair. In retrospect, that explains a lot. Between her unusual background and her blindness, Bella really is best suited for this job. She has to know things and be able to adjust without getting caught up.

_"Aw. You don't need to worry about me," Bella smiled up at me._

_"But isn't it hard?" I asked. "Not seeing?" I'd been shocked when I found out. Bella had always seemed a little different, but she'd seemed _better_ somehow. Beyond human, even. _Blind_ had never crossed my mind. She was so well-adjusted._

_Bella thought it over. Her head tilted to the side as she did. "No. I think it's easier _not_ to see," she finally answered. "To be honest," she continued, "_I _worry about _you_. Sight is a heavy burden." Her answer left me dumbfounded. I thought she was crazy._

Not anymore. She _must_ be beyond human. No fifteen—now sixteen—year old is that insightful. Bella is far more wise than any adult I've ever met.

Without a second thought, I whipped out my cellphone.

_"What?"_ Her voice was just above a whisper. Either she'd just woken up, or just suffered another meltdown. Wait! I glanced at the clock above the tv. "Shouldn't you be in school?" It was only ten thirty.

_"If you thought I'd be in class, why did you call?"_ Bella asked curiously. Her voice was beginning to rise back to its usual volume, which was a start.

"I asked you first," I retorted childishly.

She sighed. _"Just a little spat. Nothing to freak out over."_ Something told me that the 'spat' was a bigger deal than she was letting on. It might've been been the word choice; the last time she used the word 'spat' was to describe a fight she'd had with Aro, the co-director. That 'spat' would've gotten them fired had they not been so important to the organization. It was either the word choice, the sigh, or the way she rushed through the explanation. Normally, Bella loves detail. Especially in describing a fight.

"Who with?" I asked suspiciously. I wasn't sure I wanted to know. "Was it Emmett's bitch of a girlfriend?" I've only met her once, but man was she full of herself. Bella is way hotter than Rose. I was getting pissed just thinking about what Rose might have said or done.

_"No, no. This wasn't her fault." _Bella sounded better._ "Want a hint?"_ she asked sarcastically. And she's back.

"That'd be nice," I responded in the same tone. Do I even know anyone at her school? Maybe one of the agents has a kid there besides Carlisle.

_"Male..." _No chick fights, then. She could easily take on any teenager in Forks, so it has to be an agent. But what agent would pick a fight with her? _"Teacher..." _

"WHAT?" Hubert? "HIM? DID THAT SON OF A BITCH-"

_"Claude,"_ Bella sighed.

"SCREW WITH YOU AGAIN? I SWEAR, IF HE TRIED TO BLOW YOUR COVER I'LL-"

_"Claude?" _Bella tried halfheartedly.

"MAKE THAT POOR EXCUSE FOR A HUMAN BEING GROW A PAIR JUST SO I CAN RIP THEM OFF AND MAKE HIM EAT THEM! THEN I'LL PEEL OFF HIS SKIN, SQUARE INCH BY SQUARE INCH, AND-"

_"CLAUDE!"_ Bella matched my volume, cutting my angry tirade short. I was still fuming though._ "It's okay. He didn't give anything away. Just used my, um, handicap against me."_

"So no one knows you're blind, then?" I reiterated. Bella couldn't risk getting found out. People still brought up the Swan Case from time to time. She couldn't spend another three years in hiding either. Rumor has it, Bella found herself a lost puppy, too. What would happen to him?

_"That class wouldn't have noticed if I had walked in with my eyes uncovered."_ Thank God!

"Good. But what did he do, Sweetheart?" It must've been horrible if she had another episode over it.

After she explained with the proper amount of detail, I was hellbent. Sick bastard!

"So... Do I get a shot at him, Sweetie?" I asked evenly. If she thought I was too irrational from anger, she'd say 'no'. "Please? He needs a good ass kicking!" I had to ask. She'd only get more upset if I 'solved' her problems without her consent.

_"Ngh. Fine. You know the rules, though." _Damn. I hate those rules.

"Aw, come on! You're too nice for your own good, Sweetheart," I groaned. "He crossed the line, so shouldn't I get a little wiggle room?" Damn son of a bitch and his bullshit. I should at least get to break a couple of ribs. Those don't require a cast.

_"If you insist. We'll talk about it later." _That's a yes! If I wasn't still pissed I'd do a happy/victory dance. His ass is mine! _"Are you going to bed, or do you have a little time?"_

"I have an hour. Ty need to be fed?" I'll happily stay up all day for weapons privileges.

_"Yeah. You don't mind, do you?"_

"Not at all. Consider it a thankyou for bending the rules," I chuckled darkly. I was too excited to sleep anyway.

_"Anything for you," _she replied sarcastically._ "Thanks, though."_

"No problem. I'm going to feed your rat with wings." I glanced around the living room until I came across my car keys in a chair. "Are you going to work tonight? It may still be a bit soon." School just started yesterday. How she'll juggle Ghost and school is beyond me.

_"I'll be there. I can take over the night's FTL group and blow off some steam."_ A few obstacle courses would make for a good stress reliever. There may be some trouble if she runs into Phil or Emmett though. They've been gossiping like old women about Bella's 'shadow'. They'll want her to bring...uh...Jasper by the agency. It's well-known among the people in the innermost circle of Ghost that Bella has a 'good eye'. No pun intended. She has a knack for picking them, so to speak. She's an excellent judge of character and potential agents.

"Good idea. While we're on the topic," I added, "When are you going to bring that Jasper kid to work with you?" Emmett and Phil have seen him. I want to see him too, dammit! A loud slapping noise echoed through the phone. "What was that?"

_"Nothing,"_ Bella grumbled, leaving the previous question unanswered.

"As for the first question...?" I pried. Being left out sucks.

_"I don't know!"_ she snapped. I wished I could see her face. Bella's adorable when she's flustered.

"Alright. I'll stop picking on you, Sweetheart. See you at work tonight, then?"

_"Yeah. Eight, right?"_

"Mm hm. Later, Sweetie."

_"Later." _I snapped the phone shut and and got out of my car. The conversation lasted the entire drive to Bella's.

After pulling the spare key from a nearby bush, I let myself in and wandered into the kitchen. I gathered an assortment of fruits and headed toward the door at the end of the hallway.

XxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxX

The day went by as expected—slowly. I was so pumped for my 'spat' with Hubert that I didn't get much more sleep. Onyx, my black and white Maine Coon kitten spent his afternoon wreaking havoc among the little forest creatures, then brought home a watch. How he even managed to get outside is a mystery to me.

After taking the watch to the lost and found at the police station, it was finally time for work. I drove home to change into my 'uniform'. Torn up skinny jeans, spiked arm bands and steel-toed combat boots—I intended to use both of the two tonight—and my Ghost shirt.

The shirt is plain black with 'Ghost' written in red, bloody, drippy font on the back and a bloody 'G' on the sleeve. We've been talking about adding to it, but we don't want it to stand out too much. Right now, it could pass off as a normal tee shirt if we were to go outside in it. If it gets too showy and the wrong people see it, the shirt would be more of a target stuck on our back than a uniform.

I pulled into the parking lot of McCarty's Law Firm and made my way in. MLF isn't necessarily just a coverup. They do official business and have legit lawyers working during the day. When they leave in the evening, the agents come out to play and MLF becomes Ghost—secretly, obviously.

The offices on the first floor were deserted, as usual. The first six floors of MLF are for the layers and 'official employees', as the agents like to call them. The daytime staff. The top seven 'off limits' floors are where the Ghost stuff happens.

I pressed the 7F button as I stepped into the elevator. Eagerness for the night's events made me giddy with excitement.

XxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxX

I was too wound up to sit around and write up field reports, so I messed around on the obstacle courses. Once I was settled down, I managed to catch up on the reports Jasmine and I had fallen behind on. Luckily, it wasn't long before the elevator pinged outside the office door. I shoved away from my desk and wandered into the hall.

Bella and Jasmine were walking toward our office with a kid that looked somewhat familiar. Where have I seen him before?

"Hey there, Hot Stuff," Jasmine called. She left Bella's side to tackle hug me. "Thanks for the ride last night!"

"Not a problem, Sweet Stuff," I shot back, tossing my arm over her shoulders. Bella pulled what's-his-face over to us and flashed me a grin.

"Excited for your private training session?" Bella asked. The boy raised his eyebrows at her.

"Been pumped for it all day, Gorgeous." I took in Bella's attire and realized she was planning on doing more than a few obstacle courses. She was wearing her favorite top hat—the one with a gun strapped inside it. Her Ghost shirt was a long-sleeved button up; she doesn't like people seeing her scarred up arms. Bella was also wearing her red skirt with a hidden pocket knife in the folds. She had on her torn-up, black tights and her favorite combat boots. They each had a hunting knife in them, I'm sure.

"Dressed to kill tonight, Sweetheart?" I asked.

"Something like that." No-name watched our conversation curiously, still not saying anything. When he saw me looking at him, he shrunk back—or tried to. Bella's hand was still around his wrist. When she noticed, she finally remembered that he hadn't been introduced yet.

"Claude, Jasper. Jasper, Claude." Bella gestured with the hand that wasn't around Jasper's wrist. So this is the guy Emmett and Phil were talking about.

"Isn't he cute?" Jasmine whispered. I laughed.

"Yeah, looks like you've got some competition." Jasmine scoffed and tried to give me a playful shove, but I tightened my arm around her shoulders.

I glanced at Jasper. He was cute, not that I'm gay or anything. It's probably his face. He still has that boyish look. Something about that innocent face seemed so damn familiar. Where have I seen him before?

Bella pulled me from my thoughts. "What time is it?"

"Six thirty. We've got an hour and a half before everyone else gets here." She seemed deep in thought.

"How much catch-up work is there?"

"It's all done, I think. I got here early and finished it." Turns out more work gets done when you're fully _awake_. Shocker. Bella's head tilted as she thought.

"I'm gonna warm up," she decided. "Jasmine can do the electronic stuff while you take Jasper on a little tour. That'll give you some guy time." _Guy time?_

Jasmine slipped out from under my arm and pulled one of the bat clips from her hair. She pulled me down to her level—I'm 6'9" and she's 5'7"--by the back of my neck. She pushed my bangs off to the side and clipped them in place. I gave her a what-the-hell look, but all she did was say, "You're so cute!" Jasmine kissed me on the cheek before looking between me and Jasper and following Bella down the hall and around the corner.

"We'll get you at eight!" I yelled after them. Now what? We stared blankly at each other. I don't know what he was doing, but I was trying to figure out why he looked so damn familiar. Jasper seemed to find everything that wasn't me fascinating. His shoes, the clock, the wall, the office door, the clock, the ceiling. The silence was so awkward, I couldn't take it anymore.

"So..." Jasper suddenly said. "You and Jasmine, huh?" Once I was over the initial shock—Most people start a conversation with "hello" or "what's up?" Not him.—I laughed. Jasper spared me a confused glance.

"We're not together," I explained. "I'm not with Bella either," I added. "In case you were wondering." It was obvious that Bella was at least _somewhat _interested in him. She has an unspoken "no touching" rule—that Emmett and I break frequently—yet she was dragging him around by the wrist. It may not have been his hand, but it was a start.

"Does Jasmine know that?" he asked skeptically, staring pointedly at the bat clip in my hair.

"Yeah. I'm not leading her on, or anything." Jasper's eyes went wide. "Just putting it out there." I nodded toward the direction the girls had just taken and started walking. Jasper followed silently like the shadow Emmett had described him as. We turned the corner and headed right, toward the elevator.

"Why didn't we take the other one?" Jasper asked curiously.

I pressed the up button and waited. "The other elevator doesn't go any higher than this floor," I explained. "For security reasons, we made the Ghost floors into sort of a maze. This one has some of the offices. Eight has the rest."

The elevator pinged and the door slid open. I pressed my hand to the scanner on the wall and the elevator began to move. "It was Bella's idea." Jasper looked from the scanner to me, and I realized what he was thinking. "The scanner was too, but I was referring to mine and Jasmine's fake-date thing."

"Bella suggested it?" he asked, flabbergasted.

"Bet your as, she did. Back then, I didn't even know her name." I chuckled at the memory. Bella certainly is an interesting case.

"She just suggested it out of nowhere?"

"No," I admitted. "She had just bailed me out of a sticky situation." The elevator jerked to a stop, and the door slid open. I led Jasper through the maze of desks and to the far back wall. Along the back wall was set of ten-foot oak doors. I continued the story as we walked. "I was at work when these girls walked in and started flirting with me and shit." I pulled the heavy doors open and led him through. "They were getting annoying, but it would have been bad for business to scare them off. The 'being polite' thing wasn't getting me anywhere." We made our way up the spiraling, stone staircase toward the next set of doors. There was very little lighting—just the light coming from the cracks in the doors below—so we had to use the railing as a guide.

"Bella must have caught wind of my situation because, before I knew it, she'd pranced over and gotten rid of them." Jasper chuckled.

"What did she do?" he asked. I could only imagine the scenes Bella had caused at her school already, the little chaosbringer.

"She slipped under my arm and said," I made my voice a little higher, "'Hello, Sweetheart! I thought I'd find you here. Are these girls lost?'" When we reached the second set of doors, I pushed them open and we stepped into the library. "Never saw any of those girls again. Welcome to the Library of Records, by the way."

I watched as Jasper took everything in. "The Library takes up the entire ninth floor. We keep information on past cases and higher profile criminals in here." Shelves lined every wall—minus the one with the oak doors—floor to ceiling. Every one was filled with books. Couches and coffee tables scattered throughout the open space. In the center was a meeting room, making the Library a large circle. It had the same oak doors with shelving lining the walls on the outside. After a few minutes of wandering, I led him to the back right corner. "Behind this shelf is where the girls are," I pulled the second to last book from the middle shelf. The wall opened up behind it, and the shelf slid back, revealing a stone staircase like the one we'd just used. "We'll save this for later." The shelf slid back into place, and I put the book away before turning back the way we'd come.

Just over an hour later, the tour was over, and we were making our way up the second staircase. This one was much longer; it led from the ninth floor to the thirteenth without any breaks. Needless to say, it was a warm up just getting to the right place.

Jasper and I both breathed a sigh of relief when the third set of large wooden doors came into view. The both pushed them open and stepped into Observation. Jasmine was sitting alone at the computer, turned to watch Bella through the glass wall on our right. "How's she doing? You're not going easy on her, are you?" I teased. Jasmine and I both knew Bella is a pistol. She gets mad whenever we try to make her ease up during workouts.

"It's been on max for the past half hour," Jasmine stated. _Holy hell! _I turned and saw Jasper gaping as Bella jumpkicked a projectile punching bag, sending it flying, and landing lightly on the balls of her feet.

"Are you sure it's up all the way?" Bella called as she dodged a stray baseball hurdled from one of the ball guns along the walls. Ceiling tiles fell from above her as Jasper watched from between his fingers. Bella punched through the one above her head and ducked as a built-in fan began blowing the debris around her in a man made tornado. She kicked a table in half just before it fell on top of her and rolled out of the path of a few metal pipes. Bella snatched one up and used it as a bow staff to break down the flying wreckage when the fan suddenly stopped.

"Quitting time," Jasmine announced. "Time to train the ones that actually need it." Bella pouted, but waded through the mess to the door.

"It's been two nights since I've had any action," Bella reasoned. "What if I were to get rusty?" She leaned against the glass wall as Jasmine shut the computer down.

"Like that will ever happen." I rolled my eyes.

"Don't roll your eyes at me!" Bella scolded, half-jokingly._ I still don't understand how she does that. _"I'll meet you guys by the obstacle courses." She grabbed Jasper's wrist and led him down the pitch black staircase.

"Those two are so cute!" Jasmine exclaimed. I laughed with her and we followed the lovebird slowly down the stairs.

XxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxX

By 8:20, all of tonight's agents—including Hubert—were gathered together by the start of the first course on the tenth floor. I fidgeted impatiently, waiting for Bella's 'okay' to kick the crap out of him. If I had to wait much longer, God knows what would've happened.

"Group A is with me," Bella explained. "B is with Jasmine. Claude, have fun." She waved me off and led her group to the next floor with the training rooms. _Hell yes!_ I looked toward Hubert and pointed toward the elevator when he caught my stare. He followed reluctantly, knowing what was coming. Once we were locked into one of the (soundproof) training rooms, my fun finally began.

"Rumor has it you've been giving Bella a little trouble at school lately," I pointed out evenly. I knew the experience is much more frightening when I act calm.

"No!" Hubert lied, backing away slowly.

"Are you calling Bella a liar?" I asked, allowing a small amount of anger to seep into my tone. I took a step toward him for good measure.

"Yes! Wait... No!" Hubert spun on his heel and started running. I followed him at my own pace. He didn't have anywhere to run, anyway. Soon enough, I had him cornered.

"So what did you do?" I already knew; I just wanted to hear what he would say.

"Nothing!" he squeaked.

"That's not what I heard." Patience gone, I grabbed his bald head and smashed his face into the white wall, leaving red splotches where his nose and mouth made contact. "I heard you set her up." I kneed him in the gut and let him fall the the floor. "And made her feel bad for something that was your fault." I squatted down to Hubert's level and forced his head up. "Do you know how that makes me feel?" I seethed.

"Bad?" he tried. His face was bloody and his eyes were watering because of his broken nose. Had I not been so pissed, I might have felt bad for him.

"Yes, very bad." I let go of his head, but didn't get up. "You do realize that you could have blown her cover, yes?" My voice was calm again, but I certainly wasn't.

"I didn't think about _that_," he defended himself.

"You mean to tell me that you _honestly didn't realize_ that calling Bella out like that would _draw attention to her?_" I growled.

He nodded weakly. "I'm sorry!" he squeaked.

"That in mind, will you be causing her any more trouble?" I asked menacingly. I picked up his arm and twisted it behind him until I got an answer.

"No! No more!"

"No more what?" I prompted.

"No more being mean to Bella!"

"Good." I released his arm. "Transfer her into a different class by next week," I warned. "And clean your face up. It's a mess." With that, I left. It was a bit disappointing, to be honest. The guy is all talk and no walk.

After that, I searched for Jasmine and her group. Jasper was with Bella, so she didn't need any extra help. What a night.

**Sorry the fight was so short. I wasn't sure where to do with it since Hubert is more mean than he is tough. At least Claude got a couple of shots in. I kept changing things and this is what I got. Oh! for the record:**

**Floors 1-6: Official floors not used for Ghost**

**Floor 7: Offices (including the room for Bella, Claude, Jasmine, and Carlisle)**

**Floor 8: The rest of the offices; staircase leads to Library**

**Floor 9: Library of Records; staircase leads to Bella's training room (not open to regular agents)**

**Floor 10: Obstacle Courses**

**Floor 11: Regular Training Rooms**

**Floor 12: Lab**

**Floor 13: Bella's training room **

**Let me know what you think. This chapter had more to it, so feel free to ask questions.**


	8. Feral Child

**Thanks to everyone that has reviewed, favorited, and/or subscribed to my stories. In Sociology, we're learning a lot of stuff that I'll be incorporating into the story, so if something needs clarification, give me a heads up.**

**Feral Child**

Ghost was nothing like I expected it to be. "Ghost" sounds like some creepy, underground organization involved in illegal activity. In actuality, Ghost took place above ground in an office building. How disappointing. To be fair, some of their tactics aren't exactly legal, but that's beside the point. There weren't any secret underground tunnels, but some of the hallways had really dim lighting. I also noticed that there weren't any windows on the eighth through thirteenth floors. That was a little creepy, I guess.

The layout of the building was weird, too. One elevator takes you from the main floor to any level up to seven. You have to walk across the seventh floor to get to the eighth floor elevator. On the eighth floor is the staircase leading to the Library of Records. And an elevator to the tenth—obstacle course—level, the eleventh—training—floor, and the twelfth—laboratory/autopsy—level. My legs were killing me ten minutes into the hour-and-a-half grand tour.

Claude, my tour guide, was...interesting. Once we got past the awkward introduction, things went smoothly, I guess. Still, I couldn't help but notice the weird looks he was constantly tossing my way. At first I was sure Claude was trying to stare me down, but that feeling passed once he started talking. Appearance—and temper—aside, he seemed like a nice guy.

Then there was Bella. Any images of cute, little,_ harmless _Bella I had were thrown out the window the second I saw her punch through that ceiling tile. Watching Bella fight her way through that flying wreckage was like seeing a car stalled on railroad tracks. You want to help, but all you can do is stand and stare. It was almost traumatizing.

The training rooms and obstacle courses and training rooms weren't much better. There may not have been a man-made tornado, but I did see knives shooting from gaps in the walls while Bella was demonstrating a particularly difficult course. A few of the newer agents paled at the sight. Not Bella; she just ducked and sidestepped before continuing on her merry way.

In the training room, everyone partnered up and Bella went over "basic self defense." Bella's idea of basic self defense is an hour long crash course on how to survive a three on one street fight in the dark. After she explained what do do, she flicked the fights off, blasted a fast-paced Breaking Benjamin song, and told them to "have fun."

At first no one moved. Silence filled the room until it was broken by a_ thump_ and an "oof!" That got things started. Soon enough, thumps and thuds, trash talk and laughter echoed through the chaos. Before I knew it, I was sucked in. Thankfully, it was basically one giant wrestling match. I used what I remembered from my five years of aikido—a type of martial arts—to flip a guy over my shoulder and into another guy. Someone else tackled me and we fell into two other people. Our fun ended when the lights suddenly flicked on.

"I'd avoid street fighting if I were you," Bella advised from her spot by the light switch. Her dark hair was in complete disarray and her skirt and button-up shirt were pushed up. I distracted myself by looking around and noticed that the vast majority of us—myself included—were sprawled on the floor. Not a place you'd want to be in an actual street fight. "Some of you could make the high school wrestling team though." Bella pulled her skirt back into place and unbunched her shirt.

"If nothing else, I hope you learned that you don't have to see to know what's happening around you," Bella concluded. With training finally over, Bella grabbed my wrist and we made out way back to Claude and Jasmine.

XxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxX

**One month later...**

Things have changed quite a bit this past month. Bella and I managed to to slip out of the spotlight once football season started. Gossipers are far too busy spreading the latest on Forks' football players to notice the weird emo kids. We're finally free to do as we please without constant public scrutiny. Alice and Edward talk to us more now that we aren't in the spotlight. Edward still doesn't know that Bella is blind, but I think Alice might have figured it out. If she has, she hasn't told anyone.

A couple of weeks ago, I met Carlisle, Bella's other agent. He is, ironically enough, Alice;s father. It's hard not to bring it up around her. What would she think if she knew about her dad's secret second shift? I guess I wouldn't be terribly surprised if Alice had noticed something already.

After that first night at Ghost, Bella asked if I was interested in working under her. Having nothing else to do, I agreed. She warned me that it might be more than I could handle, but I assured her I'd be fine. _How much worse could it be than a man-made tornado or projectile knives? _Bella didn't seem to believe me, so I guess I'll have to prove it.

Bella placed me in her Circle rather than mixing me into the trainees. She said I would learn more from her, and she was right. Every night, Bella or Claude—if Bella had a BLT, whatever that meant—worked one-on-one with me. It wasn't long until my hand to hand and weapons skills were where Bella wanted them.

Tonight, Bella said we were to come to work early. She didn't say why, just that it was important.

Silently, I followed Bella past our office to the second elevator. She pressed her hand to the screen and leaned against the railing. Her hunched shoulders, clenched jaw, and stiff posture made me anxious. "What's so important?" I asked cautiously.

"You'll see soon enough," she replied. I let it go, knowing now was a bad time for questions. One thing I've learned this month is not to bother Bella when she's stressed;bad things happen to those that do.

The elevator jerked to a stop and we headed toward the third elevator. Bella hit the 11F key and up we went. After the familiar_ ping_, the doors slid open and we started out walk down the wide, dimly lit hallway. Doors of training rooms—ten to each side—passed and my confusion began to grow. I'd never noticed that there was more to this floor than training rooms. The lighting has always been too dim to see the turn at the end of the hall.

Bella hung a right and walked down the narrow, doorless hallway. There weren't any overhead lights, so she grabbed my hand to help me down the pitch black path.

The most subtle change that had taken place this past month was between Bella and me. An outsider wouldn't have noticed, but somewhere along the way, I became hyperaware of Bella's every move. Bella doesn't grab me by my wrist anymore, and she keeps me nearby every chance she gets. She seems nervous more often, but she hasn't brought it up. I think Bella notices more now, too. It's as if she can read my mind based off of my tone and these tiny movements I make. Maybe we've just become more predictable over time.

We stopped at the end of the hall. I saw streaks of light seeping from the cracks around another oak door. It wasn't in a set, like at the Library, but it was the same size. It opened with a loud_ creak, _and Bella pulled me in. The room wasn't as big as the other training rooms, and it was divided in half by a wall with a large, glass window and a door. On our side, Claude, Jasmine, and Carlisle stood watching something through the glass.

Jasmine turned toward us and gave Bella a sad smile, not that she could see it. I noticed a few bruises beginning to show on Jasmine's arms. She silently lifted a finger at her side in response to my questioning glance. _'You'll see,' _she mouthed before returning her attention to Bella._ I've been getting that a lot today_, I thought mildly.

"Are you sure, Bella? You don't have to do this," Jasmine tried. Her blue eyes were bright with worry.

"Stop lying and open that door," Bella sighed. She kicked off her boots and rolled up the sleeves of her black Ghost shirt. Her scarred up arms matched her torn skinny jeans.

Claude's turn. "Really, Bella. It's not your responsibility." His eyes were hidden by his thick, black and purple hair, but I could tell he was nervous by the way he chewed on his snakebite piercings. He nodded stiffly toward the window. "we could find someone else to do it, preferably someone bigger, wearing full body armor."

Bella crossed her arms, offended. "thanks for the vote of confidence," she said evenly. I knew she was getting mad. "Besides, if it does indeed 'take one to know one,' I'm the best you'll ever find."

Absently, I reached up to rub Bella's back. Things were beginning to head in a bad direction. She tensed, then relaxed against my hand and uncrossed her arms. "Worrying about me won't help anyone," she reasoned. "You know I hate playing the authority card, but I will if I have to."

That said, Jasmine sighed and walked to the door connecting the rooms. "Fine. We'll all be watching."

"I'd expect nothing less," Bella replied. She turned and patted my arm. "I'll be fine." I watched as Jasmine closed the door behind Bella.

Seconds later, a loud _wham_ echoed through the room. "Dammit Bella!" Claude yelled. I ran to the window as Claude started pacing.

Bella was being pinned to the floor by a psycho. I couldn't see his face, but he was well built for his height—around 4'11", give or take. He had long, tangled, black hair and russet skin. He snarled in Bella's face, but she laid still, eyes closed, poker faced. "What the hell is_ that_?" I pointed to the psycho that was trying to do God-knows-what to Bella.

"A feral child," Jasmine explained, flinching as Bella got clawed in the stomach. "He was raised by wolves in a forest up north." We watched as Bella kicked the kid off, patience gone. She rolled into a crouch from her back. My heart nearly stopped as a ferocious growl erupted from her chest. When did she learn that? Wolf boy—he looked to be around twelve or thirteen years old—shrunk back at the sound. If he had a tail, it would be between his legs.

I rubbed my arms, trying to rid them of the goosebumps that the scare had given me.

Claude had stopped pacing. He stood next to me, paler than a corpse. "That explains a lot," he managed. Jasmine and Carlisle nodded in agreement and I stood silently, out of the loop once again.

Carlisle turned away from the window for the first time since I'd walked in. "Bella has a very... unique background," he explained. "She's needed to adapt to a variety of bad situations. I can't say much more than that," he concluded reluctantly. Carlisle offered me a sympathetic smile before returning his attention to Bella and the feral child. An uneasy felling churned in my stomach as I continued to gaze through the glass._ What aren't you telling me?_

XxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxX

It wasn't long before Bella calmed the boy down. In the end, she was able to sit in front of him and talk. He didn't understand her, but he wasn't trying to kick the crap out of her either. I could tell she was testing different languages, fishing for a reaction, but nope came. Wolf boy just cocked his head curiously. Jasmine told the three of us that he would, most likely, never be able to speak or comprehend language.

Before Bella left him, she waved slowly—to avoid scaring him—and said "Bye bye." He copied the hand movement, not actually understanding, as he watched her leave.

"We won't be of much help," Bella sighed. She unrolled her sleeves and and slipped her boots back on as she briefed us. "He doesn't respond to German, Italian, Japanese, French, Spanish, or English. I think he can pick up on tone though. My brain hurts."

"I noticed that too," Jasmine said. Are you going to keep working with him?" she asked curiously.

"Yeah. How bad is it?" Bella undid the bottom buttons of her shirt to show us the scratches.

"They're not very deep. You'll need to clean them out though." Carlisle dug through the backpack at his feet and pulled out the antiseptic and some cotton balls. _So even he thought this __wouldn't go well?_

Bella flinched the second the lid was screwed off. "Can't I just take a quick shower?" she pleaded. Her face scrunched up and she covered her nose. "That's the stingy stuff isn't it?" she asked darkly, making everyone laugh.

"Sorry Bella. Who are we victimizing this time? Aside from Bella, I mean." Carlisle stood with his tools of torture and looked for a volunteer. Claude and Jasmine pointed to me.

"Sadist," Bella spat. Carlisle dragged me over to Bella and told me to put her in a full nelson.

After a thorough explanation of what that _meant_, I locked Bella's arms as instructed, apologizing profusely. "Don't worry about it." She bent her arm back and patted me on the shoulder. I felt her muscles tense as Carlisle applied the "stingy stuff" to Bella's gashes. It was blatantly obvious that she was using a lot of willpower, trying not to shake me off and show Carlisle a thing or two. Claude and Jasmine snickered at the three of us, and Bella flipped them the bird. She's so cute.

**A quick note: Jasmine is an expert on human behavior. Also, that dream Claude had last chapter was based off how Bella was actually found. It wasn't random. Bella is multilingual, in case you didn't catch on. Thanks for reading... Review please. :3**


	9. Breakdown I

**It took _forever_ to write this chapter. I was constantly changing things as I went. Hopefully, it's worth the wait. This chapter is Bella's point of view, obviously. You'll learn more about her... um... background. ****I changed the summary, too.**

**Breakdown I**

The voices were calm, soothing. Each one like a gentle breeze weaving its way between the thick, ancient trees, making up the forest I've become so well-acquainted with. Leaves rustled lightly in the breeze of voices. A few fell from their branches and fluttered to the ground next to me. The soft field of grass surrounding me blew in waves with the wind.

I rested against one of the many tree trunks, breathing in the crisp, clear air. The voices seemed to dance around me as I sat. Each voice was calm and quiet, and _unique_. They held separate conversations with each other as if they were real people. Chances like this, to sit and relax, have always been few and far between. Suddenly, I began to feel uneasy._ Where are all the animals?_ The once soothing voices grew more ominous as I listened.

Nothing. All I heard was rustling leaves and that eerie chorus of voices. The birds weren't chirping; the squirrels didn't chatter. A howl pierced through the chorus of voices just as they began to pick up. A warning howl. Quickly, the chorus morphed into a cluttered, chaotic mess of sound. As I struggled to take it all in, and audible _click_ echoed through the woods, effectively silencing the chaos.

Blood drained from my face as my brain registered the familiar clicking sound. _Gun!_

I was instantly on my feet, running in the opposite direction. Several bangs resonated around me as I continued my aimless sprint. There were more than one of them, and they were everywhere. I was trapped. 'They' were the reason I've been in hiding for so long. Everything was their fault, yet they were _still_ after me, out to destroy me.

The trees melted away and my footsteps grew louder. They echoed noisily down the hall as I ran. All those men were catching up. Fast. Their heavy footfalls were growing closer by the second. Pushing myself to run faster, I all but flew up the stairs. Every sound we made was muffled by my heart pounding in my ears. _Run faster!_

After what felt like forever, I finally burst through the door to the roof. One man managed to catch me from behind. He reached out and grabbed my arm. Thinking on my feet, I spun around and raked my nails across his face. A thick, hot liquid oozed down my fingers while the man yelled and stumbled back.

Seizing the opportunity, I ran to the edge of the roof. Yelling—mostly cursing me to the deepest pit of hell—came from the open doorway. I heaved myself onto the ledge. Sprinting up 15 flights of stairs isn't easy. Before anyone had the chance to grab me again, I jumped.

"It's dead," one of them said. "We can clean up later. You need to get those eyes fixed up."

Relief washed over me as I fell. I barely even noticed the loud crunch I made when I landed feet first in the grass. My raw lungs and aching chest had nothing on my throbbing legs, but even my legs didn't bother me. If I could drag myself away to hide, I'd be free.

Willing myself to move, I reached out and dug my bloody nails into the earth, then slowly dragged my limp body away from the people that had made my life hell before I was evenborn.

XxXxXxXxXxXxXxXx

"-la... Bella... Bella, can you hear me?" I heard his voice—recognized it—but couldn't bring myself to respond. "C'mon, Bella! You scared the hell outta me in there!" Emmett whined.

"Hunh?" My voice sounded weak and breathy like I'd just run two marathons back-to-back. A bird chirped somewhere above us. _Why am I outside?_ Grass brushed against my exposed arms. The dim sunlight made them itch. _Why am I outside IN. THE. SUN?_ I quickly rolled onto my stomach, protecting my arms and face. Luckily, everything else was covered. "Dammit Emmett!"

"Shit! Sorry!" His hands fluttered frantically—and uselessly—above me as he tried to explain.

"A was in the living room with Phil talking about how Rose should come over for dinner sometime. And he said it was okay. And we were talking about when it would work out best—our jobs have weird hours, you know? Ouch!" I gave Emmett a kick on the leg to get him back on track. The sun was seeping through my hoodie and jeans.

"Sorry. Well, Valentyne started buggin' out and screeching and stuff, so I went down to your room to see why. And you were on your floor by your bed-" I gave him another kick, this time because my skin was starting to burn under my clothes._ Damn sun_.

"Shit! The sun! Sorry!" Emmett scooped me up and carried me inside. He tossed me on the couch and dashed into the kitchen for some ice. I tried to will the itching heat away while I waited.

"Should I call Carlisle?" Phil asked from the chair next to me. He sounded a bit worried, but I wasn't sure what about. This wasn't the first time I'd been caught in the sun.

"Just get me some ice and I'll be fine." I hadn't realized how heavily I was breathing until then. Stupid sun. "I'll cool off in my room."

Emmett came back with a crapload of ice packs and pushed me down when I sat up. "No. Stay here." I sighed, but stayed put. Emmett covered me in the ice packs, then sat on the floor next to the couch. "I never finished explaining."

"You don't have to Emmett. I'm sure you had your reasons." All I wanted was a nice long nap. The ice helped me relax, but I couldn't sleep with Phil and Emmett there.

"No. I do have to explain." His tone drew my full attention. Emmett was using his rare this-is-important-so-you-better-listen voice._ Huh._

"You were on your floor with your hands around your neck. I thought you were having another episode, but you weren't, were you?" This wasn't going to end well. "I tried to get a response outta you, but you were practically catatonic. I couldn't find a pulse and you were hardly even breathing! What the hell happened?"

I tried to remember, but nothing came to mind. After school, I rode home with Jasper. He's been watching me more carefully lately. I remembered wondering how much he'd caught on to about the whole anxiety thing I had. Once I got home, I went straight to my room for a nap. I couldn't sleep because that _feeling_ was making me all jumpy. Eventually, I passed out, then... then...

Then I had that dream. Nightmares were basically the norm for me, but this one was based off an actual event, sort of. One I hadn't told anyone about, and I certainly didn't plan on telling them now.

"I don't know what happened." I couldn't exactly tell them that I had some weird panic attack in my sleep because of a dream brought on by the bad feeling I've been having for the past few weeks. Normal people aren't born with strong natural instincts. That's why they usually spend their first 18 years with their parents. How do I explain instinct to a (sort of) normal human being like Emmett?

"You don't _know_?" Emmett asked flatly.

"No. I don't. I was asleep. Maybe I was just sleeping harder than usual," I tried halfheartedly. We both knew I'm a light sleeper. Just hearing someone whispering upstairs wakes me up.

"Sleeping hard, my ass," came his brilliant reply. "I don't think you should go to work tonight," Emmett added.

"Fine." I couldn't go anywhere with my skin burnt like this anyway. It would take at least the rest of the night to cool back down. Still, I couldn't help but feel like a little kid that's been grounded from watching TV (not that I could _watch_ it anyway).

"Don't worry." Emmett's tone was suddenly light and cheery again. _Oh no_. "We'll find you an awesome babysitter!"

XxXxXxXxXxXxXxXx

The doorbell rang and I rushed back up the steps. The boys were gone and I had just changed my shirt. I wasn't about to show Jasper my itchy, sunburned arms. Valentyne had calmed down, too, which was good. I closed the basement door behind me and walked down the hall to the living room, where the front door is.

"Bella!" Jasper sounded both relieved and surprised. I wondered vaguely just what Emmett had told him. He stepped in as I moved to the side. "Emmett said you nearly burned alive!"

I felt him reach up to brush my hair out of my face. Jasper covered my eyes—he knows how much I hate letting people see them—as he studied my face. "It's just a little pink over the bridge of your nose, like you're wearing blush or something." My face heated up at that comment. My sunburn looked like makeup.

Jasper was so relieved that I couldn't bring myself to tell him about the rest. My face had been blocked from the sun; Emmett leaned over me while he had me outside, inadvertently protecting my face. The skin on my arms and back were much worse. Even now, it felt raw and itchy.

As we walked to the couch, my face cooled back down, but not for long. It heated right back up as soon as I remembered the mountain of ice packs Emmett had tried to bury me in. "Emmett?" Jasper guessed.

"Yeah." I cautiously reached down to pick some up. My sleeved covered my hands, but one wrong move and Jasper would see what a _real_ sunburn looks like.

"I'll help. What was he thinking, anyway?" Jasper asked, referring to Emmett. He bent over and scooped up an armful of the packs before turning toward the kitchen.

"Thanks. The burns were actually pretty bad before the ice." I prayed he didn't catch on the the plural. _Oops._ He didn't say anything, so I continued. "Emmett was just being Emmett." Not necessarily a lie. I did feel a little guilty for leaving so much out. Jasper's footsteps echoed in the kitchen, and I took the opportunity to bend over and grab my own armful. My hands and back were still completely covered, so I followed him into the kitchen.

"Why did he bring you outside?" His suspicious tone made my stomach drop. "Even I know you don't fare well in sunlight." I dumped the ice into the sink and walked back into the living room, buying time. There were only a few stray packs left on the floor, so I plopped down on the couch. Jasper followed my lead.

"You know how animals have instincts, like baby deer know that tigers aren't their friends?" Wow. That sounded so stupid. Jasper chuckled, then urged me to continue. He probably wondered where the hell I was going with this.

"And humans don't have those instincts, or, at least, they're not as strong?" I felt Jasper nod, and kept going. "I have those instincts. Not about tigers, obviously. That was a bad example.

"I know you've caught on to some of it already, so I guess I'll just tell you straight out. My _instincts_," I put emphasis on the word, fishing for some type of reaction. Jasper just waited patiently. "Have been warning me that something bad is going to be happening. Soon. Judging by how severely my instincts have been nagging at me, I'd say we have less than a week." This time, Jasper's silence was from shock. Not sure what to say next, I waited for Jasper to respond.

"Do you know what it is?" I was so surprised he believed me that it took a minute to answer.

"No," I sighed. "This has only happened one other time. I don't even know who's involved, yet."

"How do you know it's a bad thing?" he questioned.

"Think of it like a set of gears," I started. "Normally, the gears move as they should. They fit together and make that annoying cranking sound. Last time, there was a shift. It made the gears speed up, then separate. The second gear went away. Then another was added and they began turning in reverse. That time, something good happened.

"This time is different. The gear that broke off—the one I now realize is bad—is trying to reattach itself to the gear it started with. But now, the first gear is moving in reverse, so the two are grinding together. The original gear is corroding, and that isn't good. That's why I know something bad is going to happen."

Jasper was quiet for a few seconds, then finally said, "What?"

I shook my head in mock disappointment before rising to my feet. "Hold on. I'm just getting something." Jasper had tried to follow me.

In the kitchen, I found a piece of paper, scissors, and a pencil before returning to the living room. I picked up the three coasters as I sat down. "These can be the gears." I held up the coasters. At least they were finally being used. Like Phil and Emmett actually cared about water rings. "Draw an L, I, and B on the paper, then cut them out. Those can be the labels for the gears."

He hesitantly took the paper and pencil from me, still not understanding. Jasper did as I asked, then waited. I put two of the coasters next to each other on the table and pointed to the first one. "This is L. It turns counterclockwise." Jasper drew an arrow by the L and put it on the coaster. I pointed to the second. "This is I. It runs clockwise, and it's bad. But that doesn't matter yet." He repeated what he did last time, then stopped.

"Why is I bad? Shouldn't B stand for the bad one?" _I certainly hope not._

"You'll see. It makes more sense later." I felt him shrug. "See how L and I move together smoothly? That'll change." I set the last coaster on the table.

"This is B. But first, get rid of the I." He pushed it away and put the new coaster next to L.

"You said that L turns the opposite way, now?" I grinned and nodded. He was catching on. "So L moves clockwise and B moves counterclockwise."

"Exactly. Now those two match." Jasper reached out to grab I.

"You said that the bad gear—I—comes back again and tries to reattach to the original—L." I heard a tap as he set the I beside the L. "But they don't match up anymore. They grind together and the L corrodes." Suddenly, he turned toward me. "Bella, what do the letters stand for?" His voice sounded so small that it was hard to answer.

I took a deep breath, then explained. "L is life. It's the original gear, and the most important. B is Bella, the second part of my life. I is Isabella, the bad gear. It's the part of my life that went away, and is coming back. L contradicts I, and when they clash, one won't make it." As I heard my words, I understood how true they were. L and B had a good five years, but I was coming back with a vengeance.

My face paled as I realized what that meant. My instincts had been warning me for the past few weeks that Bella's time was wearing thin. If I wanted to keep my friends—especially Jasper—safe, I would have to leave soon. If they are dragged under, it will be all my fault.

In my mind, the gears began to turn faster, with a sudden shift, L and B began to separate. My arms rose from my sides, and my hands clamped around my neck. "Bella?" Jasper asked. He sounded frantic, and I felt terrible. His sudden panic was my fault, too. I bent forward, letting my hair fall over my face. Blood pounded through my brain, in my ears. Jasper's voice was quickly drowned out by my raging heartbeat. My throat began to close up as I gasped for air. I felt myself shaking as my thoughts became muddled by lack of oxygen. Something grabbed my arms and pulled me down as I started to drift.

Soon, I was back in my grassy meadow, surrounded by the breeze of voices weaving between the trees. This time one of those voices stood out:

_You're safe here, Bella._

The voice seemed to surround me. It was calm and quiet, but not like the other voices. This one caressed my burned arms and spoke directly to me. It weaved through my hair and lightly brushed over my cheeks and across my nose, easing the itching heat that I hadn't noticed before.

_Thank you for opening up today. I know it isn't easy for you. Your gear analogy was impressive. You haven't told anyone else about it before, have you? I must be hard, not having anyone to talk to. Who could possibly relate to a blind runaway, right? Obviously, I can't. But I am willing to listen._

_When things get messy between I and L, you know you won't be alone. That probably scares you even more, feeling like we're at risk too. But you can't blame yourself, because it was our decision, not yours. You'd probably lock us all in a safe room if you could. But you can't, so please stop blaming yourself. I love that you care enough about us to worry, but I wish you could feel from our side too._

The voice sounded sad. I wanted to reach out to it, but a voice is a voice, so I laid in the soft grass and enjoyed the brief moment of peace with the sweet, sad, lonely voice. It was quiet now, but I could still feel it brushing against my skin, happy to have me there in that small, peaceful meadow.

**The analogy was a bit complicated, so I'm hoping it made sense._ Lemme know if you didn't get the analogy._ Even I needed to make myself a diagram. As I'm sure you noticed, Jasper knows who Bella is now. The analogy pretty much confirmed any suspicions he had about her being the famous runaway. **

**For those of you who think these past few chapters have been sorta slow, the plot picks up from here. Bella knows something's coming, and now Jasper does too. That'll probably be the next chapter. I sorta know where the next chapter is headed, so it should be up much faster than this one (I hope).**

**_Thanks to my reviewers and favoriters and subscribers. :D You keep me motivated._ Next chapter is Jasper's point of view.**


	10. Breakdown II

**Thanks to everyone that has reviewed/subscribed/favorited the story so far. You guys are awesome. The action picks up this chapter and it's in Jasper's POV, obviously.**

**Breakdown II**

Emmett scared the hell out of me with that phone call. I was sure Bella would be sprawled out on the couch dying as I walked in. Her skin would be melting off her bones and she'd look like a decaying zombie. Luckily, Emmett had exaggerated. Again. He's seriously doing a number on my blood pressure.

Contrary to what I was expecting, Bella was at the door, opening it, just seconds after I rang the doorbell. The doorbell was supposed to be heads-up for when I came in. I didn't actually expect her to answer it.

Her hair was tousled like she'd been running, and she didn't look anything like a zombie. Quite the opposite, really. She had on a long-sleeved Ghost shirt and jeans, so I couldn't see much skin. Bella let me look at her face, and even that was just a little pink. Until she blushed, anyway. Then it got pretty red. She's so cute.

Still, the entire thing seemed odd to me. Emmett's not the brightest bulb in the package, but he wouldn't have freaked out like that over a little, pink sunburn. When I asked Bella about it, she started acting weird. I figured I'd let it go if she didn't want to talk about it, but, once again, she amazed me with her honesty.

I knew she hadn't told anyone else about it, just by the way she explained her analogy. Like Emmett would've understood it._ I_ didn't even get it until the coaster demonstration, and I'd like to think I'm at least a _little_ smart. The analogy was brilliant. It was also haunting, though. Bella _knew_ for a _fact_ that these things were happening, and she explained them to me like they were nothing. Knowing things like that would be a nightmare. These past few weeks, Bella has been sitting in class, going to work, acting almost completely normal, yet, the entire time this knowledge has been plaguing her.

After Bella explained the gears and what they meant, things finally seemed to sink in to her. At first, I was frantic. Her hands were around her neck, her breathing was ragged, and she was shaking almost violently. Soon enough, the shaking stopped and I pulled her into my lap.

The entire prospect of something bad happening in less than a week scared the shit out of me. Bella's analogy only made it worse. Not only was it going to be "bad," it was going to be catastrophic. Her "life" was going to corrode. If her life was going to corrode, then so was mine.

Corrosion aside, there was still the I gear, "Isabella." Obviously, Bella had a damn good reason for running away. Those news reporters talked about her for months, how she had been home schooled and had never been in public before. That she was blind. For five years, the Search for Isabella Swan was a huge topic in discussions. What blind ten year old would run away without good reason?

If "Isabella" came back, and the media caught wind of it, the entire country would be in chaos. Reporters would constantly swarm her house, follow all of us. Two of the three main heads of Ghost live here. If the media got a hold of _that_ little piece of information—or the fact that the organization even _exists_—all of hell would break loose.

All of these thoughts cluttered my mind as I spoke quietly to Bella. No doubt she'd already though of every single one of them. Being one of the top dogs at Ghost, these ideas must have crossed her mind a long time ago.

I was happy to see she'd calmed down after I finished talking to her. I continued to brush my hand over her arms, even when I wasn't saying any more.

The skin on her hand looked raw, but she didn't flinch when I tentatively picked it up. High pain tolerance, I noted. During her breakdown, Bella's hands came out of her sleeves as she grabbed her neck. The sight of her raw skin seriously freaked me out. A couple layers of skin had been scalded right off. How did that not hurt?

Then, I remembered the mountain of ice packs Bella had been so embarrassed about. Maybe Emmett wasn't as crazy as I thought. I stopped rubbing Bella's arm, and she shifted, waking up a little. Quickly, I put my hand back on her arm and lightly rubbed it again. Once Bella seemed to have settled again, I reached to the hem of her shirt with my other hand. I pulled it up just enough to get a look at her pink tinted stomach. It was darker than the burn on her face, but not nearly as bad as her hand, thank God. Her stomach was closer to red than pink, but it wasn't missing any layers of skin.

It wasn't until Bella sighed that I realized I'd laid my hand there. Her skin was on fire! My hand probably felt like ice to her.

Since she seemed to appreciate it, it left my hand there and continued to think. Her hand was worse than her face, so it was safe to assume she was at least partially in the shade. I found myself wondering if her arms and legs were burned too. They must have been, if even her stomach got a little red. I wasn't about to take her clothes off to find out. That wouldn't end well.

I looked around, trying to find a distraction. Bella hates being ogled. I yanked my eyes away from Bella, and, unfortunately, they landed on the coffee table. L and I were still beside each other, so I nudged the I toward the edge of the table. I'd never look at a coaster the same way again. For the next hour, I sat silently on the couch, rubbing Bella's probably-burned arms with one hand. The other rested on her stomach as my eyes rested on the L and B coasters. _Less than a week, huh?_

XxXxXxXxXxXxXxXx

Around midnight, Bella woke up. She blushed when she realized the position we were still in: her sprawled across my lap, my hands on her, and her shirt pulled halfway up her sunburned stomach. Maybe I should've pulled that back down earlier. Oh well. I'd fallen asleep, too, but woke up when Bella did. It had been about five hours since I'd gotten here. Time flies when you're talking about an upcoming disaster and sleeping, I guess.

"And how are we feeling?" I asked sweetly.

"Not sure," Bella responded drowsily. She pulled her shirt back down, and I put my hand back in place. She didn't make a move to get up, which was interesting. My lap must be comfortable. "I had a dream about water rings in the grass."

"Wonder why," I replied sarcastically. My eyes wandered toward the coasters. "Where did the grass part of it come from?" I asked. The water rings made sense, but not the grass.

"Before I came here, I lived in a forest. There was a big meadow in the middle that I liked to nap in during the day. The tree branches twined together so thick that I never had to worry about sunlight. The grass was really soft." The feral child from work popped into my head. Had Bella been like that? Her vicious growl echoed through my mind and I immediately knew she had. That growl was something she'd been working on. It was practically a roar. People don't learn things like that on their own.

"Was it nice there?" I found myself asking.

"Yeah." Bella smiled. "Only two humans wandered anywhere near that forest in the six months I was there. One of them was a serial killer!" she added excitedly. My stomach dropped. A_ what?_ "The wolves kept me safe though." Wait, that rumor was _true?_

"Seriously?" Unbelievable.

"Of course. I don't get why people are always saying that wolves are dangerous." Well they did eat a serial killer, didn't they?

Our conversation continued like that for quite a while. Before we knew it, it was three in the morning and Emmett and Phil were walking in the front door. Emmett grinned at us and Phil pretended not to notice the fact that Bella and I were curled up on the couch together. Bella wasn't laying in my lap anymore, but she was leaning against my side.

"How goes it?" Emmett asked. Cocky jerk.

XxXxXxXxXxXxXxXx

I didn't go home until four or five. When I started working at Ghost, my sleep pattern shifted to match Bella's. We go straight to bed after school, then wake up at six or seven for work. Not a lot of sleep. Sometimes we manage to squeeze in a nap, but not very often. Kids at school think we're emo, but we're really just exhausted.

My mind drifted back to Bella's first day in Forks (that people know about). No one knew anything about her, so they took what they heard—mostly from my conversation with Alice and Edward—and made up their own little back stories. Four basic rumors spread from those stories: the vampire theory, alien theory, werewolf theory, and Rose's insane asylum theory. Originally, I'd heard that Bella's parents had been killed in a car wreck that she'd witnessed. Now I know that it can't be true. She couldn't have_ witnessed_ anything. The rumors, on the other hand, are partially true.

Bella and I are basically nocturnal. It's not uncommon to find us dozing off in math class. (Bella was bumped up to my calculus class after the Hubert incident.) The scratchmarks from the feral child disappeared within 24 hours, or so Emmett says. Healing aside, she also picks up on things that normal people don't. Bella has a "good eye," for lack of a better explanation. Unlike every other teenager on the face of the earth, she can accurately determine a person's character, potential, whatever. It's nice not having to worry about her dating an abusive drunk or something. Clearly, her intellect surpasses that of a human.

Obviously, Bella isn't a _werewolf_. She isn't freakishly hairy and she doesn't howl at the moon. At least, not that I know of. Though Bella, herself, is not a wolf, she did _live_ with a few for six months. My sweet little Bella was once a feral child. Had she not growled that night, I never would've believed it. Blind ten-year-old Bella ran with the wolves, got involved with a serial killer, and narrowly avoided being raped.

The car jerked as I remembered her telling me that. Bella had been so nonchalant about it, too. In retrospect, that makes sense. Even back then, she didn't want me to panic over her. My stomach clenched as a wave of nausea rolled over me. We were strangers, yet she trusted me with that little bit of information as a test. However I reacted, it must've been what she was looking—no pun intended—for, since she kept me around.

As far as the insane asylum theory that Rose cooked up, I'm not sure. Her "I gear" is a mystery. No one knows where Bella was before she became the nationally-famous blind runaway. Reporters said she was home schooled by her parents, hidden from the public eye because of her blindness, but that doesn't sit well with me. Bella never needed to be hidden—aside from after she ran—so what were they thinking? For Bella to have risked her life, running away, they must've been awful. Speaking of her parents, they obviously weren't killed in that supposed car wreck if she was running from them. In her own unique way, Bella _is_ an escapee.

Once I arrived home, I slipped quietly through the door. My parents didn't mind my weird hours. They _did_ mind my waking them up. Silently, I went straight to my room and to bed. Might as well get some sleep.

XxXxXxXxXxXxXxXx

Bella certainly bounced back fast, both emotionally and physically. She was perfectly calm all through the school day, even more so than four weeks ago, which was a good sign. Her face was back to it's usual creamy white, and her hands were just a light pink. They looked like her face had last night, all layers of skin restored. Thank God for her superhuman healing abilities.

Rather than going back to my house for my daily three hours of sleep, I ended out napping at Bella's. At first, it seemed like a bad idea. Emmett could've easily pulled some immature prank on me, like dying my hair pink. He_ is_ Emmett. I gave in when Bella refused to sleep unless she knew where I was. After last night, there wasn't much I could say to that. We were safer at her place, anyway.

I woke to a muffled ripping sound. The room was pitch black, so I laid still, trying to find what the strange noise was. A low growl came from my right, and I froze. _I _really _hope that's Bella_. Tentatively, I reached toward the source of the vicious growl. Two feet later my hand came into contact with her silky hair. "Bella?" I whispered. "What is it?"

"Leave him alone!" She backed into my side and sat up into a crouch.

"Bella?" I tried again._ Is she asleep?_ There wasn't anyone else that I could hear. Feeling my rising panic, Bella turned toward me. "They found me." She explained darkly.

"Who? Your parents?" Bella flinched and turned away from me.

"I don't have parents." I couldn't see her in the darkness, but I could feel her freeze. She seemed to be fixated on something. After another low growl, Bella lightly pushed me off the side of the bed. I landed on the floor with a graceful thud.

"What the hell Bella?" I asked, shocked. She shifted to the edge of the bed over me.

"They can't find you. You know too much." Suddenly, Bella yelped and jumped, slamming into the wall. Erratic flapping came from above our heads as Valentyne nearly fell from his perch. He screeched in annoyance. Bella cringed away from him and started shivering.

"Bella, what's happening?"

"No! No more tests!" she squeaked.

"Tests?" I repeated, flabbergasted. _This isn't about _school_, is it? No way._

"No needles," she said a little louder. A pillow flew over my head, into the shelves.

_Oh. Those kinds of tests. _"What are they for?"

"Experiments. Lab rat." My skin crawled at her words. Her voice was at it's usual volume, but she seemed unstable. The bed creaked as she rapidly shook her head. Valentyne started flapping his wings again, sensing Bella's agitation.

"You are not a lab rat." I tried to stand, but was pushed back down.

"No. You hide."

"No. I don't need to hide," I answered indignantly. "You're having a nightmare, Bella."

"Fire!" she squealed. I heard another scratching noise, but it wasn't like the first. The first sounded like tearing fabric. This was like...

"Bella!" Was she scratching herself? An image of her long, knifelike fingernails crept into my brain. She wouldn't! Would she?

I quickly jumped to my feet and grabbed her arms. Sure enough, a warm liquid seeped between my fingers. "Calm down! It's just a dream!" I whispered frantically. Valentyne was now fluttering wildly in circles above our heads, occasionally bumping into the wall.

"Leave me alone!" Bella whimpered, frightened. She shook violently against my chest.

"It's just me. You're okay." I pulled her tightly to me when she tried to yank herself out of my grip. _What's going on?_

"Why won't I die?" she sniffed. Her nails dragged heavily across her arm again, so I pinned them to her sides in a sort-of hug.

Completely dumbfounded, I just held her still, listening to her sniffle. Why did she want to die? "Because I won't let you," I finally answered. After a long while, the sniffling stopped. Bella had fallen asleep, so I scooped her up and laid back down on the bed. She curled into my side, and soon, I was asleep as well.

XxXxXxXxXxXxXxXx

Waking up wasn't as awkward as I would've expected, considering the position we were in. Bella's little body was sprawled face down over mine like a blanket. Her face was pressed against my neck, and mine against hers. Both of my arms were slung lazily around her waist, and our legs were tangled together under the blanket I hadn't noticed before. The room was still too dark to see anything, which I was thankful for. Not seeing was beginning to grow on me, believe it or not. It saves me a lot of embarrassment. I played with the ends of Bella's hair until she woke up maybe ten minutes later. Her hair was well past her waist now. How it managed to grow so fast is beyond me.

Her lashes brushed against my neck when she finally woke up. "Oh" was all Bella said when she realized where she was. She laid there for a few more minutes until something seemed to dawn on her. "Oh!" Her arms flexed and she groaned. "Well that sucks."

I sat up so that she was sitting in my lap. "What happened last night?"

"The same thing that happened the night before. You seemed so worried that I figured Emmett said something." Bella yawned and stretched her arms behind me, arching her back. "Oh well. Anyway, I had another partial flashback sorta thing. I'll tell you about it later, but right now we need to get ready for work. Don't tell anyone about _any _of this, okay? I can't risk putting anyone else in the line of fire."

"And you'll explain later?" She nodded.

"I don't have a choice anymore. You know far too much, so what's a little more?"

"Alright. Do you need help with your..." I didn't want to mention her bloody arms, but she couldn't go upstairs like that, let alone work.

"It couldn't hurt," Bella sighed. "Wait! You won't get nauseous, will you?" she asked warily.

"Of course not." I sounded far more confident than I felt.

XxXxXxXxXxXxXxXx

Those scratch marks were damn gashes! I'm glad she couldn't see my face. Her arms looked like the were from a nasty, gory horror movie. All the skin between her wrists and the crook of her arms was utterly nonexistent. She held her breath as I coated the gashes with disinfectant. That must've hurt like hell! Bandaging her arms up wasn't much better, I'm guessing. Dried blood covered both of us, so I had to borrow her shower before I left. Once we were cleaned up, I drove home to get ready for work.

Things were considerably normal when we were at Ghost. Paperwork, mostly. We didn't need to train any agents today. Claude and Jasmine were already at their desks when we walked into our office. Bella plopped down in her seat and went straight to work without a word. Claude and Jasmine exchanged a glance before warily turning toward me with questioning looks. I just shrugged and took my seat next to Bella, across from them. The two didn't say anything, but I knew they would later.

There weren't any interesting emails. I glanced over to Bella's laptop and couldn't see any BLT messages, luckily. The last thing she needs is a BLT right now. Emails minimized, Bella brought up a document and started typing. That would be weird, typing without being able to see anything. I looked away when she started fidgeting with her earbuds, sensing someone watching her.

Thirty minutes later, Carlisle walked into the office in his scrubs. "Sorry I'm late. Again." He set his bag on his desk and fished out his Ghost clothes.

"No problem. You don't need to worry about changing tonight," Bella added. "We'll be here most of the time anyway."

Carlisle shrugged, then sank down into his chair. "Thanks."

"Uh huh." Bella replied, distracted. Must be an interesting case file.

After a few hours, everyone was getting restless. Jasmine suggested a twenty minute break, and everyone agreed. Claude and Carlisle eagerly followed her out the door, toward the nearest coffee machine. Bella wasn't typing anymore, but she wasn't moving to stand, either. "What's up?" I asked. She was acting weird again. "Do your arms hurt?"

"They're fine, but..." Her head turned toward the door. I got up and locked it.

"What is it?" I didn't mean to sound pushy. I was just curious.

"Um..." Her face was tilted down, hidden by the computer. With a sigh, she picked up the laptop and pulled the file from beneath it. "What does this say?" Bella asked with obvious embarrassment.

"It's not your fault you can't read it, you know." She half smiled and handed me the file. I looked at the tab, then asked, "Where did this come from?" The manila folder had_ I.B. "Swan" _written on the tab.

"In one of my desk drawers." Bella cocked her head, then reached up to make sure her eyes were covered. "Why?"

"It says _I.B. Swan_." She froze and the color seemed to melt off her face. Swaying in her chair, Bella quietly said, "Don't let anyone see that."She saved the document that she was working on and shut her laptop down. As she stood, she turned back to me. "I guess you can read it, if you want. It will explain everything. I'm gonna run through a couple of obstacle courses."

"Should I come too?" I didn't want her dodging projectile knives alone in this state.

"If you want," she sighed.

On our way to the elevator, we bumped into Claude and Jasmine. Claude decided to join us, now that he had his coffee. Jasmine said she was going to find Carlisle and fill him in on the change in plans.

We quickly reached the tenth floor, but walked past the courses to the back wall. I glanced to Claude and he nodded toward a door in the far right corner that I'd never noticed before. Behind the door was a dark stairwell similar to the one leading to the library. Claude and I followed Bella down the stairs to another white door. I gaped at what was on the other side.

The room was a hundred by hundred by hundred foot cube. The right and left walls looked like they had giant shelves every ten feet, making separate levels, each with its own particulr obstacle. There was a break in each shelf to the one beneath it. In each break, a bar extended from the wall and connected to a giant glass wall that started at the floor, then curved near the ceiling. Between the glass wall and the ceiling was a maze with glass walls.

"Do you like it?" Bella asked. Her color was back, and she was bouncing lightly on her toes, ready to start.

"I'd die if I tried that," I said as I looked up at the ceiling maze. Heights scare the crap out of me.

"It's not as bad as it looks."

Bella walked to the right wall and opened the glass door. "As long as you keep running and don't miss the bar, it's pretty easy."

"So says Superhuman Bella," came Claude's reply. Bella ignored him and started running. It was still a shock to see how light she looked. "Ghost" was a good word for her. Claude and I sat in the chairs on either side of the couch along the back wall. We continued to watch Bella glide through the obstacles while Claude finished his coffee.

Half way up the right wall, Bella froze. She tilted her head to the side and seemed to be listening to something. Something seemed to click, and Bella whipped out her cell phone. Seconds later, Claude's cell was blaring Famous Last Words by My Chemical Romance. "What happened?" he asked.

He put it on speaker and Bella quickly answered, "Get back to ground level. _Jetzt._" Claude looked up at her and she said, "You heard me. Move!" In seconds, the phone was back in his pocket and he was pulling me up the steps.

"What's going on?" I didn't want to know, but knew I had to.

"_Jetzt _is my safe word. Whenever she says it, that means there's an emergency." His death grip on my wrist worried me. I hadn't seen him this freaked out before.

"So what could've-" I was cut of by a loud bang. The we fell forward as an explosion rocked the stairs beneath us. "Bella!" We scrambled back to our feet in horror as the ceiling began to crumble.

** Sorry about the cliffhanger. Well, not really. :P Review and I'll write more.**

**Also, let me know if something doesn't make sense. Jasper is starting to figure things out, but since he knows so little it's kinda hard _not_ to make this confusing. See you next chapter!**


	11. Bleed or Die

**IMPORTANT! Okay, so there are a few different ways I can take the story from here. With all these ideas buzzing around my head, I need help narrowing my options. I put up a poll on my profile asking which POV should dominate for the rest of the story:Jasper, Bella, or both. After this chapter I'm gonna start weighing my options, so I won't put any more chapters up 'til 20 people vote. So yeah... Vote. Now, on to the chapter.**

**Bleed or Die**

_Tick. _It came from the other side of the room. The sound was muffled by the thick wall it was embedded in. Probably just a technical glitch. I continued my sprint, weaving my way through the forest of poles making up the first level of my own personal obstacle course.

Seconds later the forest cleared. I ghosted to the end of the level, then sprung into the air. My hands quickly found the bar, and I swung up to the next floor. Landing easily on my feet, I spun on my heel and glided through the projectile knives of level two. At the end, I jumped, swung, and landed on the third floor. Half way through evading the security cameras and lasers on level three, I heard it again.

_Tick._ Faster now, I glided quickly to the fifth level and heard another _tick._ The pause was shorter between those two. I froze, then tilted my head, listening... _Tick._ My stomach sank and I whipped out my phone.

"_What happened?_" Claude asked.

"Get back to ground level. Jetzt," I commanded. Sensing his hesitation, I barked, "You heard me. Move!" The line went dead, and the door clicked shut behind him and Jasper as they ran upstairs.

_Tick._ I flew full speed to the top of the course—the maze—in under a minute. _Tick_. In the middle of the maze, on the ceiling, was a trapdoor. _Tick. Tick._ With a swift yank, the door fell open. _Tick tick tick._

Just as I was pulling myself up, an ear-shattering _BANG _erupted. Everything beneath me shifted, then soured through the air. Glass tore through my clothes and bit my skin. A knife shot past my right leg, leaving a deep gash in my thigh. One of the thick metal bars collided smashed into my side with a loud snap. Breathless, I lost my grip on the door and fell.

The remains of the glass maze caught me but cracked under the strain. They soon gave away, but I managed to grab onto a small ledge jutting from the wall below the trapdoor. Jagged glass sliced through my palms as the debris below me finally settled.

Bleed or die. Those were my options. I could ignore the glass digging halfway through my throbbing palms and pull myself up, or I could fall one hundred feet into a sea of glass, then die. I chose 'bleed'. With a pathetic whimper, I pulled myself onto the tiny ledge, then jumped. My hands latched onto the trapdoor, and I gasped. Pain shot through my hands, up my arms, sending a shiver down my spine. Ouch. I managed to scramble into the hole and a few steps away before I collapsed.

My mind wandered as I laid still. Glass clung to my clothes, my hair, my skin. Even the slightest movement made the vicious shards burrow deeper. Hopefully, Claude and Jasper made it upstairs in time. I sat up with a jolt, cursing the glass that had made a home of my hindquarters and my very sore side.

They _did_ have enough time, didn't they? Horror edged its way into my brain. There had been a couple of minutes _tops_ between my warning and the explosion. We were almost a mile underground. That's a lot of steps. Steep steps, no less. Well, shit.

Even if Claude and Jasper did survive—which they may not have—there's still the person that put the bomb down here. I was dizzy with panic just thinking about how bad their situation was. The safest place for them to be was this tunnel.

I've known for a while that Ghost has been infiltrated. Because I didn't want to alert anyone—especially the intruder—I kept quiet. It took some time to figure out who it was, but now that I know, things aren't "looking too bright," as Jasmine says. If my little group—Jasper, Jasmine, Claude, and Carlisle—manage to find out who did this, they'll confront him. If they confront him, Ghost will go up in flames, and they'll be killed. This guy has connections. Connections I know far more about than I'd like to. I need to get back there and warn my team.

The tunnel I was lying in led to a nearby forest. Only I knew about this one. Phil and Aro, the director and assistant director, knew about all the others. A complex tunnel system runs beneath Ghost. Only a few people know why it's there, including me. Those tunnels are another reason I have to get back to the surface.

After formulating a plan, I slouched painfully against the dirt wall of the tunnel. My hands were tingly—from lack of blood, I'm sure. Shards of glass were biting at my skin. The dull throbbing in my side suggested a couple of broken ribs. I tried not to breathe too deeply. Worst, by far, were my eyes. They don't function like they should, but my eyes are incredibly sensitive. My eyes burned like hell; they obviously had glass in them. Needless to say, I had to recover before I set my plan into action.

**Sorry this one was so short. Like I said, there are a ton of directions this story can take from here. Remember to vote, review, whatever. Bella has a plan now, and she plans to carry it out. I guess we'll see how that goes.**

**Happy Thanksgiving! :D Anyone have exciting plans for this weekend?**


	12. Surprise!

Surprise! I have a quick announcement to make:

**'Out of Sight, Out of Mind?' was nominated once for "Best All Human Story", "Best Emotional Breakdown" and "Best fanfic in progress." **It needs two or three more votes to get to the final poll. To nominate it, go to this website and follow the directions. Thanks guys!  
.net/topic/66481/20624122/1/

Virtual snack foods of your choice for all who nominate and/or vote for me! Nominations end on January 5th, I think.

Two more weeks 'til winter break. As long as I don't get a ton of homework over break, I'll try getting a couple chapters up.

Thanks for reading,

Back Away Slowly ^-^


	13. Bad News

**Merry Christmas everybody! Here's your present!**

**Bad News**

_Jasper_

Claude and I collapsed into a massive. Dirt-covered heap just outside the stairwell—that had also collapsed—and gasped for air. I struggled to sit up, then stared into the seemingly bottomless hole in horror. There was no way we could dig Bella out in time. She was a mile underground! I tried, in vain, not to think about how increasingly small Bella's chances at survival were getting with each passing second. By now, they were microscopic. We needed to get help. And a shitload of shovels.

My mental tirade was cut off by Claude's voice. I glanced over and saw that he hadn't moved much. He was lying on his back, talking on on his cellphone.

"Get to the tenth floor. Now! Someone planted a bomb in Bella's obstacle course!" He winced and grabbed his leg.

My attention was quickly drawn again by the massive hole. The door and its frame had fallen in, along with bricks and debris that had once made up the walls of the tunnel. It wasn't until the tunnel reached ground level that it was made of just dirt. The bricks and debris nearly knocked us out while we were scrambling up the steps.

"What the hell do you mean: 'Are you sure?' It fucking exploded already!" I must've been in shock because Claude's dropping of the F Bomb—poor choice of words—didn't even register in my brain. My thoughts were consumed in images of Bella buried alive a mile underground.

"Bella is trapped down there! Dammit! I don't care about the building's stability right now," Claude snapped. Who the hell is he talking to? Not Phil. He would've rushed straight here.

I forced my eyes away from the gaping hole in the wall and back onto Claude. He was sitting against the wall, next to the hole, rubbing his left leg. "Just get your sorry ass down here." Claude snapped the phone shut, but didn't look away from his leg. His hair, caked with dirt, hid his face. It had been almost five minutes since the explosion. _Could she already be dead?_ The glass walls probably shattered because of the explosion. All of that glass could've done her in minutes ago.

"Who was that?" I finally asked.

"Aro." He shifted, flinched, and slammed his fist onto the hard, tiled floor. "He_ just happened _to be at Phil's desk."

"Then where was Phil?" Phil never leaves his desk.

Bella's words began playing through my brain: "My instincts have been warning me that something bad is going to happen... I'd say we have less than a week." It didn't make sense. How could anyone get past Ghost's security? With a _bomb_? It had to be someone from the inside. Bella said that her past was coming back to haunt her, but who here was a part of Bella's life before? Through the fog in my mind, I heard two voices.

"Oh my! How terrible!"

"No shit, Sherlock. What is that?"

"It detects... Body heat. Using this will make our search much easier... Is he _okay_?"

"In shock, I'm guessing. Aren't there other people downstairs? How are you going to find her with a heat detector when we're on the tenth floor of a building and she's a mile underground?"

"This is a special heat detector."

"Why haven't I seen that in the lab before? I should have been informed about it."

"No more questions! I'm trying to work." Footsteps echoed as the person paced throughout the room.

"Nothing." he declared.

"I told you it couldn't work from this far away."

"No! There's nothing down there!" A long silence permeated the air. Everything that was left—the wall's gaping mouth—began to fade, and soon there was nothing.

XxXxXxXxXxXxXxXx

The search for Bella ended before it even started. Because Aro's "body heat detector" didn't pick up on anything a mile underground, he deemed her dead on the spot. That, of course, didn't sit well with me. This was _Bella_ we were talking about! She wasn't an easy kill either. She might have had a chance. Aro only needed a bad reading from a faulty machine to give up. Needless to say, we shared words. Our conversation ended when he brushed off everything I'd said and walked away.

"Enough of your unsavory language, boy," Aro spat.

"Bella was one of—your_ best_ agent. Do you even care about that?" I spat back. "You haven't even _looked_, and you've already given up! Some assistant director you turned out to be!" By then his face had flushed red in rage. I was too furious to flinch away.

"If you weren't the ghost's pet, you would have learned in _real_ training that you should never let yourself become attached," he countered, looking smug.

"Who _does_ the training?" I shot back. Though most of the agents knew Bella merely as their director's kick-ass adoptive daughter, they respected her as one of their superiors. Out of everyone that conducted the training, Bella was, by far, the favorite among the agents. They didn't even know about her high-status position; they just assumed she was incredibly streetwise. Special Agent B, they sometimes call her.

"We can find someone else to train the agents." With a dismissive wave of his hand, he turned on his heel and walked hastily down the hall to his office.

Phil returned to Ghost the following night. He had been sent on a 24 hour wild goose chase all over Washington. When we asked about it, all he told us was that he was given a fake anonymous tip.

Several of the agents had become antsy, sensing that something was wrong. Bella had trained them well.

Later that night, a handful of them went to the 10th floor, having heard that training would be happening there. The hole hadn't been sealed yet, and I was the one to find them gaping at it some time later. They were about to spout off all their questions when they finally got a good look at me. Sure, people had seen me; they just hadn't _seen_ me. I had been trying to look as normal as possible, going to school and work, but that was about as "normal" as I was going to get. I was a wreck.

I must've looked at least a fraction of how bad I felt because their mouths immediately snapped shut. Quietly, they followed me to where Claude was conducting training for the night.

On the way back to the office area—I'd spent most of the night hiding at my desk with the lights off—I walked into Phil. He took one look at my disheveled appearance then said, "Come with me." I didn't bother questioning him.

Phil led me to the parking lot. After a couple minutes of looking around, Phil gave me a sheepish smile. He couldn't find his car.

With an exasperated sigh, I stepped into the dark parking lot. Something about the dim light seemed almost soothing. None of the streetlights were working, and the clouds smothered the already faint moonlight.

I gave Phil's arm a tug and he followed blindly behind me. Though finding my way through a pitch-black parking lot had become nothing more than a cakewalk to me, Phil couldn't see well with the lack of light.

Seconds later I had located Phil's car, unlocked it, and shoved the keys into the ignition. Phil slid into the driver's seat and flicked on the headlights before turning to face me. I tried to ignore the sudden anxiety bubbling in my chest and looked carefully at Phil. I could see his face clearly in the dim lighting. Stress and worry radiated from his features.

"What happened while I was gone?" he asked quietly. "Aro said there was a bombing." That was all he knew? How could Aro leave out the fact that Phil's _daughter_ was _buried alive_ in that bombing?

I swallowed and looked out the windshield at the piercing headlights before briefing Phil on the previous night's events.

XxXxXxXxXxXxXxXx

After I had filled him in on everything, Phil decided that I should stay at his place to "take care of Valentyne" while Bella was "on vacation in the mountains." That was the cover story he came up with. Phil also insisted that I take a few sick days from school and work. I didn't argue. He seemed to be taking things much better than I was.

By the fourth night, I was all but dead to the world. The only times I would go upstairs were when Valentyne was hungry. I'd get him his fruit bowl, then go right back to Bella's room.

Phil and Emmett were beyond stressed and I knew it. The agents had to have noticed Bella's absence by then. They would be wondering about that strange hole in the wall as well. Phil, Emmett, Claude, Jasmine, and possibly Carlisle were probably being bombarded with questions they couldn't answer._ Where did Bella go? Is she alright? How did that hole get there?_ Had the agents made the connection yet? I had no idea what was going on. To be honest, I didn't care anymore.

It had been almost a hundred hours since the explosion. I hadn't slept an hour in that entire time. Whenever I began to nod off, an ear shattering explosion echoed through my mind. Glass would rain over me and the ground would disappear beneath my feet. Each time, I woke up wondering, _Is that what _she _felt? _

After the first few dreams, I began paying closer attention to the details. I realized that I never _saw_ the glass slicing into my skin or the ground vanish beneath my feet. I _felt_ those things. Somehow, that made me feel better. To suddenly loose her sight, buried in the dirt and the glass, would have made the experience even more frightening for her.

The days and nights had meshed together since I began staying in Bella's room. I only knew it was morning, almost sunrise, because Valentyne had settled upside down on his perch above Bella's bed. Lying back against the pillows, I waited patiently for the few minutes of sleep that always came before the nightmare. Maybe this time I wouldn't wake up right away.

Just before I fell asleep, the door shifted. I couldn't see, but I knew I hadn't imagined it. Ty flapped his wings a few times before settling down. Someone was in the room with us. Carefully, I sat up and squinted in the darkness. There was absolutely no light. Who would come down here without a flashlight? Excluding me, obviously. When had I become so well-acquainted with the dark?

"Bella?" I tried hopefully. I knew it was stupid, but I figured it was worth a shot. Maybe her ghost came back to see Ty or something.

Suddenly, I felt another shift. This time it was at the end of the bed. Goosebumps shot up my arms and the hairs on the back of my neck stood up as I tried again. "Bella?" I whispered a little louder this time.

"Jasper?" Her voice came from right beside the bed. I jumped in shock and fell off the opposite side of the bed. Holy crap! Ghost's ghost's ghost!

"Bella! What happened?"

She flinched. "Keep it down! No one can know I'm here."

"What? Why?" I practically whined. I was so surprised that I didn't know what to do with myself. I jumped to my feet and walked around the bed. Bella scrambled backwards when I reached toward her.

"Don't touch me," she said quickly. My shoulders slumped as I stepped back. What did I say?

She sighed. "I'm covered in glass. I don't want you getting cut up." The blood drained from my face as what she said sank in. So Bella _was _caught up in that mess. But she was _also_ alive.

"How did you escape?" I asked in awe.

"I'll answer all your questions in a few minutes." Bella turned away and started toward the door.

"Wait! Where are you going?" What the hell! Was she going to leave?

"Calm down, Jazz. I'm gonna take a shower." Oh. "I've been covered in dried blood, dirt, and glass for... I'll be back in five."

"Okay," I said to an empty room. Bella is alive! And here! And showering in the next room! Ignoring that last comment, Bella was safe and she was going to explain everything. Maybe she knew who did all this. As promised, Bella was back about five minutes later.

"You asked why no one can know I'm here, right?" I heard her shuffling around in her drawers.

"Yeah. Shouldn't at least Phil, Emmett, Jasmine and them know?"

"No. Have you figured out who the insider is yet?" The shuffling had stopped, and she was closing her drawers when I finally asked.

"What are you doing?"

"I forgot to grab clothes before my shower. Anyway, I don't want the insider knowing I'm alive. You guys could be targeted if he thinks you know anything." Her logic was punctuated with a muffled thump. What was that? Then the beginning of her explanation finally sank in. She _forgot _her _clothes!_ _Oh._

"Bella!" I whisper-yelled. "_Really?_" Did the near-death experience make her grow an _even bigger_ pair or what?

She snickered. "You really have adjusted, haven't you?" I heard her turn to face me. "I'm impressed, but kind of sad about it too," she sighed.

"Why?" I asked, dumbfounded.

She turned back to face her dresser and picked up her clothes. "Stay," she said. I stayed. Bella padded over to the end of the bed and laid her clothes out.

"What are you doing now?" I asked suspiciously.

"I'm making sure I don't put my clothes on backwards." There was more shuffling, then she started putting everything on.

"Oh. I never thought about that." Huh.

"Okay. Now that I have my clothes on, there shouldn't be as many distractions." It irked me how amused she sounded.

"Oh. You're so funny," I said sarcastically. I swear, I must've been riding some type of my-best-friend-isn't-dead-anymore high.

Bella was suddenly beside me on the bed. She rested her head on my shoulder and wrapped her arms around my waist. "I'm sorry," she said after a minute of silence. My stomach dropped.

"Why?" I asked for the millionth time tonight.

"I'll start from the beginning. You already know that I'm _the _Isabella." She scoffed and I nodded. The entire nation had been captivated for years by the blind runaway that had "vanished into thin air." I can only imagine how annoying that must be. "You know lived in a forest with a pack of wolves after I ran away," she continued with a sigh. I nodded again and gave her shoulders a squeeze, vaguely wondering how my arm had gotten there.

"You don't know that I was a tube baby raised isolation as an experiment by my "parents" and their coworkers," Bella stated rather bluntly. My eyes bugged out.

"_What?_" I stammered.

"They grew me in a tube. You know, like those sci-fi movies Emmett loves so much. He told me about them." I didn't know what to say. That's horrible!

Bella rubbed my side. "That's nothing," she said. "Don't sweat it. Yet." Great. It gets worse.

"Most of the time, I was locked in what they called The Observation Room. They had basic things like a bed in there, along with a bunch of little kid toys. The lab guys would watch me to see if I could figure them out. And I could. Until I was six, my intelligence was the only thing keeping me alive in there.

"Not long after I turned six, things started to get weird. I didn't know much English since I was rarely spoken to directly, but they kept repeating these words over and over. 'Unknown chemical.' 'Tests.' Those words quickly gained meaning when I was taken out of my room. They held me down on a table and shoved IVs into my arms. They did all kinds of blood tests and 'important surgeries.' It wasn't until some time later—maybe a couple years—that I figured out what they were doing.

"My 'father' had done some genetic engineering on me while I was developing in my little tube. He wanted the perfect child. That plan was ruined the second he found out he wasn't having a boy." Bella paused and I could picture her angry sneer in my mind. Male dominance was a touchy subject with Bella.

"He kept me around anyway," she continued wryly. "Turns out it was worth while when he realized he'd created something beyond human. There was an unknown chemical in my blood. That chemical enhanced everything from my physical state to my intelligence. It would have made me perfect if I were a boy with sight." I scowled into the darkness. Talk about inhumane.

"When I was about... Eight. That's when the lab rats started to feel threatened, I think." If Bella hadn't been rubbing my arm, I would've thought she forgot I was even here. Her voice sounded so dazed. "They were becoming more violent, making more threats. I didn't understand them all, but I knew the threats were bad. Instinct took over and I began lashing back.

"The rats were surprised, to say the least. They hadn't known how sharp my nails were or how strong my jaws were until I started biting and scratching. 'Monster' is what I was then. I wasn't easily manipulated. I could fight off most of the lab rats and go a week without food and still function. They were getting scared. I could sense it.

"Finally, they decided that this new chemical they'd discovered wasn't worth it anymore. They planned to kill me and take what they could, but try as they might, they couldn't pull it off. Poison, shocks, high temperatures, freezing temperatures. They tried everything short of burning or burying me alive. Their last attempt to kill me—excluding the bomb—was with a gun. Lots of them, actually. That was when I escaped. I still have flashbacks, but you know that already." The breakdowns. The pieces were coming together and forming a frightening puzzle. I didn't like where this was going.

"I'm being targeted," she repeated. "And I'm not going to risk losing anyone else by letting them know I'm alive. Having to carry this around with you is going to suck, but you needed to know what you'll be dealing with later." Bella pulled her arms from around my waist and shifted so that she was facing me.

"I still have things to do," she stated vaguely.

"As in..." I trailed off. What _kind_ of _things?_

"You don't want to know," Bella replied. Now I really wanted to know.

"You know that just makes me more curious, right?" I asked, exasperated.

"They have another one," she announced. _And that means...?_

"Who has another what?"

"The lab rats have another..." Bella trailed off, not sure what to call herself.

"Kid?" I tried. "And you know this how?"

"I've been doing some extracurricular ghosting these past few years."

"Why are you being so cryptic?"

"It's for your own good. Trust me?" The second part was more of a question than a suggestion.

"Yes, I trust you. What are you planning to do now?" I asked. Did I really want to know the answer?

"I'm going to disappear again." She put her hand to my mouth before I could protest. "Wait," she insisted. Why do I taste blood? "I won't be gone long. In a few days, there will be something on the news about a building being burned down. I should be back a couple days after that." Oh dear Lord. She was going to burn a building down. "I have to make sure I get that kid out though. That may be tricky," she said quietly to herself. Panic began bubbling in the pit of my stomach as I took that last part in. Bella planned on going _into_ the burning building. I thought she was supposed to be smart!

"You can't do that!" I exclaimed, utterly horrified. Bella jumped, then clamped her hand back over my mouth. There was that blood taste again.

"I can and I will," she assured me. I licked her hand and she quickly released my mouth. The blood on my tongue clearly came from her hand. In the back of my mind, I thought of how sweet it tasted. Weird.

"Can't it wait?" I grabbed her wrist and turned her hand palm up. "You shouldn't be running through a burning building when you already have injuries." You should be running through a burning building at all.

"I'm a fast healer. It's only been a couple nights, hasn't it?" She nodded to her palm. "This cut was a huge gash a couple nights ago."

"It's been _four_ nights, Bella. Not two." The panic was quickly bubbling over. Was Bella not healing like she was supposed to?

"Four?" she asked. She didn't believe me.

"I'm serious. If you want to do something, can you at least wait a few more nights?" I would have begged if she wanted me to. I don't know about Bella's instincts, but mine were telling me that this was a bad idea.

Bella sat quietly, thinking it over. "I'll stay here until tomorrow night if you go back to school," she decided. Where did that come from?

"How did you know I'm not going to school?" I asked, flabbergasted.

"Why would you?" Bella countered.

"Then why are you making me?" It didn't make sense.

"I have a feeling that you need to be there."

"Is this feeling coming from the same place as the one telling you to light a building on fire, then run through it?" I had to ask.

"Of course not. I'm burning down the building because I don't like the organization, and I'm going in to get the kid that doesn't deserve to burn to death." Well, there you have it.

"Fine. But can I have today off? I haven't slept in days."

"Alright. It's tomorrow that matters anyway." Bella gave me a little push, so I leaned back against the pillows. Once I'd settled, Bella curled into my side. I quickly fell a peaceful sleep. The bed remained solid against my back, and there wasn't a shard of glass to be felt.

**Any comments on Bella's plans? I can't wait!**

**As far as that contest goes, I'm in the finals for the 'Best Emotional Breakdown' and 'Best Story In Progress.' I need one more nomination to get into the finals for the 'Best All Human Story' and two more nominations for 'Best OC Story." I'll keep you guys informed.**


	14. Almost Blast From The Past

**Holy crap! I was looking at my e-mails, but I didn't see **_**any**_** of my fanfic stuff. I should've at least gotten a message saying that my next chapter was up… Nothing! So I went to my story to see if there was something wrong with it. It was perfectly fine… And I had **_**20 more reviews**_** than I thought I did! Thanks guys! Sorry I didn't respond to most of them. My e-mail is doing weird stuff, so I can't reply to a bunch of them. **

**Also, a special shout out to for reviewing practically every chapter. I got your reviews, but wasn't able to reply. T_T And no, Emmett and Bella were never together. I never realized how that looked. Lol **

**Anyway, on with the story!**

**Almost Blast From The Past**

_Bella_

I woke up feeling better than I had in weeks. Claude and Jasper were alive and I was "dead." There was something about "disappearing" that made me feel free. Because I was "dead," no one would look for me. I could go wherever, whenever, without running the risk of being caught.

That wasn't completely the case this time, though. Jasper knew I was very much alive. His arm slung across my side was obvious proof. I felt bad about putting him in harm's way, but I had a feeling he'd find his way there one way or another. At least he didn't know everything. I'd managed to keep a few of the bloody details to myself. He had enough to deal with.

When I tried to roll over, Jasper's grip on me tightened. "No," he whined. I smiled and ruffled his hair with my fingers, careful to avoid scratching him or getting my hand blood in his hair.

"I need to do a few things _around the house_," I emphasized 'around the house' so he wouldn't freak out on me. We had a deal, after all. I stick around until tomorrow night, and he goes to school. "They won't take long." With a dramatic sigh, he loosened his hold enough for me to wiggle out.

After I crawled out of bed, I walked silently to my clock. I reached up and felt the positions of the hands. Quarter to seven. We had slept a little over 12 hours. I brushed my fingers over my palms and felt dried blood. The once gashes were now the size of paper cuts. _They should be gone by now…_

Then I realized where my bloody hands had been while I slept_. Crap_. "Jazz, take off your shirt," I whispered over my shoulder. He swayed a little as he sat up.

"Did you hit your head down there?" he asked drowsily. I had hit my head many times, but that wasn't relevant right now.

"I got blood on your shirt. It needs to be burned with my old clothes," I explained. I hope the floor and sheets are clean.

"Oh. Okay." Jasper tossed his shirt to me as I turned to catch it. He really had gotten better at the whole 'not seeing' thing. "How are you going to get past Phil and Emmett?"

"Don't need to," I replied. "They should have left for work by now." That seemed to wake him up.

"What time is it?" he asked.

"Almost seven. We really conked out. Not that I'm surprised." It isn't easy to sleep when you're covered in glass and blood, lying in a dirt tunnel.

"Wow," was all he said.

Jasper wandered over and snatched up my wrist. "Mind if I take a look at this upstairs?" he asked carefully.

"Sure. Why not?" It couldn't look that bad.

We walked quietly from the room, and I gave Jasper's arm a little tug. "Wait a minute." I slipped into the bathroom right next to my bedroom and grabbed my bloody, glass-covered clothes. The bathroom was already cleaned up. "Alright, come on."

I opened the door at the top of the steps and Jasper immediately jumped back. He closed the door, leaving it cracked. What- "No one's there," he assured me. "My eyes just aren't adjusted." Gradually, Jasper opened the door to let more light in. Once his eyes had adjusted, we continued into the living room. I led him through the kitchen and out the back door. At the end of the yard, we stopped.

There was a thick tree line separating our house from the neighbors behind us. I felt around a little before coming to the perfect spot. There was a small opening between a mass of trees that could fit one person standing straight up. I breathed in the heavy air. "Ten minutes. Excellent." It was about to rain. That would wash away the scent. "Until it rains," I added for Jasper. He looked up, then nodded in agreement.

"Hey, can you go gather up some sticks real quick?" Jasper melted into the trees behind me, and I got to work.

By the time Jasper returned with the sticks, my hole was done. It was about three feet deep with a 1-foot diameter. I dropped the bloody clothes—the evidence proving I was alive—into the hole, and Jasper dropped in the sticks. I pulled the matchbox from my pocket and lit one, dropping it in.

"You didn't make that hole with your hands, did you?" Jasper asked warily. I nodded. He groaned. "You must really enjoy stressing me out," he muttered. To that, I smiled and continued to wave away the smoke. My blood smells really weird when it burns…

XxXxXxXxXxXxXxXx

Once we were inside, Jasper marched me straight to the sink, and made sure I scrubbed the life out of my hands. After his cleanliness standards were finally met, we sat down at the table so he could properly examine the cuts.

"I'm surprised they're not infected."

"Thanks for the vote of confidence," I said. "I can't get infections, so you don't need to worry about that anyway."

"You can't?" he asked, surprised.

"Nope." One of the many perks to mutant blood.

XxXxXxXxXxXxXxXx

The rest of the night went by quickly. We whispered stories about our pasts, sticking to the safe subjects. He asked a lot of questions about my time with the wolves. Why people are so fascinated by the whole 'living with wolves' concept is beyond me.

I told him about eating a rabbit the wolves brought me after I broke my leg and couldn't get my own nonmeaty food. Afterward, I explained that that particular memory was why I refused to eat meat ever again. I wished I could see his face. He sounded so grossed out when he said that he "couldn't eat meat anymore, thanks to me."

Jasper talked about elementary school, how Emmett would call him girly boy and try to wrestle him on the playground. Rose used to have a crush on him way back when. He explained that this was all before he "dyed his hair and went all emo." People are such judgmental idiots. Jasper laughed in agreement when I voiced my humble opinion.

When I asked him why he "went all emo," his response was a simple shrug.

"I was tired of the same old stuff, so I dyed my hair in middle school to experiment. Unlike everyone else, I liked it, so I kept it." As for the clothes, he "liked those too." Some things are just that simple.

XxXxXxXxXxXxXxXx

_Jasper_

Getting up for school the next morning sucked, but waking up with Bella curled up against my side definitely made it bearable. We'd stayed up until five this morning talking about anything and everything. All of that sleep yesterday had given me most of my energy back. Knowing Bella was sleeping safely on her bed was the icing on my Good Mood cake. Not even school was going to ruin our last day before Bella's next disappearing act.

I reached into the bag Phil had told me to pack and pulled out some clean clothes. After a quick shower in the dark, I wandered upstairs to see a surprised Emmett.

"Why the hell are you so happy?" he blurted.

"I finally managed to get some sleep." Hoping he'd let it go, I wandered over to the fridge and pulled out the milk. "How are things at work?" I asked warily.

Emmett groaned. "Not good, dude. The agents are flipping their shit over Bella. Why can't we just tell them?"

"If we tell them everything we know so far, then the insider will know too."

"So you think this is an inside job?" Emmett asked over his can of Pepsi.

"You don't?" I asked, astonished.

"Of course I think it's an inside job!" he exclaimed, suddenly offended. "It's just that…" Emmett trailed off and looked down at his can.

"What?" Something wasn't right.

"Aro said that none of our agents—save the ghost's circle—are capable of planting a bomb down there." Emmett slowly looked back up, measuring my expression.

"How could he say that?" I was completely dumbfounded. Bella was the one person connecting us all together. Why would any of us want her dead? Half of our little group was down there when the thing went off! Emmett stared on, as if waiting for me to realize something.

"What?" I finally asked.

"He said that Bella was _unstable_," Emmett spat.

"He thinks _Bella_ did this?" I wanted to hit something. Better yet, hit a certain _someone_ with something. Something heavy. And pointy. "What the hell?" I yelled. There was a loud thump followed by heavy footsteps.

"What is going on in here?" Phil asked. We must've woke him up. He stomped into the kitchen in nothing but a pair of blue plaid pajama shorts. It would've been thoroughly disturbing if he wasn't in such good shape.

"Emmett was telling me that Aro wants to blame Bella on the bombing that she was buried alive in," I growled. Boss or no, I was not happy and I had no intention of hiding it.

Phil pointed to the table, and I took a seat. "No one is going to believe him, Jasper." Phil sat across from me and Emmett after grabbing a Pepsi of his own. "Right now, Jasmine and Claude are doing inventory in the weapons vault and dusting for fingerprints." Phil leaned toward me and lowered his voice. "This wasn't any of your doing, and it certainly wasn't done by one of the regular agents. I plan on doing some investigating of my own." He paused as if he wasn't sure he should continue.

Finally, he said, "I think Bella knew this was going to happen. I'd give anything to ask her what she knows." Phil took in my wide eyed expression. "She's not dead. I'm sure of it."

XxXxXxXxXxXxXxXx

The ride to school was uncomfortably quiet. Emmett kept stealing confused glances at me in the corner of his eye. I would catch him looking at me, and he would quickly look back at the road. He would open his mouth to say something, but shut it immediately after. For once, I couldn't get to school fast enough. When we arrived, he finally turned to face me.

"Do _you _think she's alive?" Emmett asked. He looked like a little kid asking if his birthday wish would really come true. He looked so hopeful that my stomach churned. I didn't want to steal that hope from him, but I couldn't tell him the truth either.

"It's possible," I decided to say. "Bella has made it through some pretty bad situations."

Emmett grinned. "Yeah," he said. "She can make it through anything!" I hoped he was right.

We climbed out of his monstrous truck and walked side-by-side into the school.

XxXxXxXxXxXxXxXx

School dragged on until lunch. That was my escape. I walked quickly to our tree—Mine and Bella's—and sat down in the cool grass. The cafeteria food had tried to crawl up my arm as I walked by, so I settled for an orange. Bella's eating habits had begun rubbing off on me weeks ago. When was the last time I had a cheeseburger? I couldn't remember. My mind drifted as I sat.

Homeroom had been awkward. That was the first time I walked in without Bella since the first day of school. Everyone looked at me expectantly, like I was going to have some sort of meltdown because Bella was "on vacation in the mountains." I haven't gotten that clingy, have I?

Most of my classes started that some way. In Italian class, Alice actually turned around and asked how I was doing. "Why do people keep asking me that?" was my response.

She shrugged. "Something is going to happen soon, isn't it?" I turned my perplexed gaze to Edward and he just shrugged.

"I guess," I answered halfheartedly.

"I knew it!" Alice pointed a finger in my face, as if she had made some type of point.

My eyes shot open and bugged out when I realized there was a gun shoved in my face. "Holy shit!" I stuttered. There was a click, and I flinched.

"Where is she?" a deep voice asked.

"Huh?" came my brilliant response.

"Isabella. Take me to her," he demanded.

The gun lowered and the man stepped back. He was huge! Probably Emmett's size. His skin was pitch black and one of his eyes were gray. The other one… wasn't there. Five scars ran diagonally across his face. They looked disturbingly close to claw marks. The man had on a green tee shirt and gray jeans. Steel-toed boots that were big enough to crush my head covered his feet.

"I must speak with Isabella," big foot continued. Who is this guy?

"And you are…" I was quite proud of myself for keeping my voice so even.

"Baron. Call me Big B." He held out his hand and I gaped at him. What. The hell?

XxXxXxXxXxXxXxXx

Somehow, Big B managed to convince me that we should take our conversation away from school grounds and to Bella's place. I think the gun helped. Baron followed me into the house and down the dimly lit hall. I turned warily to face him.

"How are you in the dark?" I asked.

"Fine as the next guy… Why?" he asked suspiciously.

"There aren't working lights down there." I jammed my thumb toward the door that led down the steps.

"Figures," he muttered. "Can she come up here?"

"Does she want to?" I stared pointedly at the gun strapped to his hip. He pulled it out and I took a step back. Then he handed it to me.

"It's not loaded," he said. "See for yourself." Big B was right. It was empty.

"I'll go get her." I scowled at him before turning toward the door. It opened silently and I began my careful decent.

When I first stayed here, I found that Emmett liked to throw his football crap all over the steps. There was a little gym area downstairs that he liked to work out in. With only a flashlight to see the equipment… Who am I to judge? Since I began my stay, I had been busying myself trying to shower and read Bella's Braille books with absolutely no light. It took me an entire night to realize that half her books weren't even in English. They were some weird Braille meets Chinese crazy ass books. Oh well.

"Bella?" I called into the darkness. "You have a guest…" Her door slid open just as I reached it.

"Baron." I felt her nod. "That makes sense."

"Care to explain?" I asked suspiciously. He pointed a gun in my face and asked _for Isabella_. She was expecting this? I definitely wasn't!

"Baron was one of the lab rats," Bella explained. And she wanted a lab rat here_ why?_ "He was more muscle than brain. Whenever I threw a fit, he was the one that they called in," she remembered. "Actually, he wasn't that bad." _Come again?_

"I always sensed that he felt bad for the things he did… And what the other rats did. He had potential," She added. "I'll talk to him," Bella decided.

"Are you sure?" I asked, knowing her mind was already made up.

"This shouldn't take long." Her hand brushed my back as she wandered up the steps. I followed her quietly, stopping half way up the steps. If things got ugly, I would know.

"You haven't grown much," Big B stated as Bella closed the door to the basement.

"I don't like vegetables," Bella replied coolly. "So did you ask for Isabella or shove a gun in his face?" she asked knowingly.

"Both." Baron's reply was followed by a resounding slap. I rose quietly to my feet, but sat back down when I heard a muttered "ow" from Baron. Hah!

"You should know better than to threaten someone unnecessarily," Bella chided. "How's the eye?" she suddenly asked.

"No longer with us," he replied solemnly.

"Case in point. You do know that was self defense?" I wondered what exactly that meant as their conversation continued.

"Yes. I deserved it."

"I wouldn't say _that_. So, why are you here?" She was through with beating around the bush.

"You were attacked." It wasn't a question.

"Several times, thankyouverymuch."

"In the past week," he reiterated. "I want to help."

"Attack me?" Bella asked.

"You plan to destroy the organization." How did he know this? My stomach felt like it was turning inside out. There was silence until he said, "I found one of your bombs, but I didn't touch it. No one else knows."

"How did you find it?" Bella sounded anxious.

"I was doing a sweep in the controls room for listening devices. It was very well hidden. No one will find it," he assured.

"You found it," Bella pointed out.

"The others that do the sweeps are nowhere near as thorough as I am. They won't find it," he repeated.

"How do I know this isn't a trick?"

"You know when you're talking to a liar." That wasn't a question either. "How can I help?"

"He knows I'm not dead," she sighed. Baron agreed. "He'll look for me, no doubt." Again, he agreed. Who is _he?_ "I need to keep Samson safe. Otherwise, this will all be a wasted effort." I was beyond confused.

"So you _have_ been spying," Baron confirmed.

"What other choices did I have?" Bella asked rhetorically. "If I take Samson to that forest a few miles from the building, will you be able to pick him up and bring him here?" What about Bella?

"I can, but are you talking about that forest _ten_ miles away from the building?"

"That would be the one," she agreed. "Let me worry about myself. I'll get the boy there."

"I won't be bringing you back."

"No. I won't lead them back to any of you."

XxXxXxXxXxXxXxXx

_Bella_

"Please, Bella! Please!" Jasper begged. I wanted to die right then, or to stay here like he wanted, but that wasn't possible. Instead, I wiggled out of his death grip and put my hand to his mouth.

"They'll hear you," I sighed, just wanting to get this over with. Phil and Emmett were home. They hadn't left for work yet. I'd managed to show Baron the door and run back downstairs as Emmett came in after school.

"I don't care anymore! Please don't do this. I'll do anything!" I didn't doubt it, but there wasn't anything he could do.

"I know, Jasper. Listen to me." I cupped his cheeks in my hands and tilted his head down. "There's a better chance of this working if I do it now. Alone." My fingertips were wet. Vaguely, I remembered Emmett's lecture on "normal people tears" and guilt immediately crashed over me. Jasper was crying. Because. Of. Me. My hands dropped from his tear-soaked face as that sank in.

Quickly, I wrapped my arms around his waist and squeezed. "I'm so sorry. This is completely my fault." Why did I drag him into my train wreck of a life to begin with?

Flashes of our first day played through my mind. Rosalie bullying Jasper. Hubert. The tree_. Our_ tree. My meltdown. Sitting together in Jasper's car. Meeting _my pet bat_, Valentyne. Jasper handling it all so well… He really was too good for me.

"It is not!" Jasper growled. I cocked my head in confusion. Yeah, it kind of _was_ my fault. "You didn't ask for any of this." His voice cracked a couple of times and he buried his face in my hair_. True._

"There_ is_ a plan," I consoled him. My hands trailed up and down his back as I spoke. "It started months ago." His silence told me to continue. I nudged him toward my bed. He sat down, then pulled me into his lap, not wanting to let go.

"Not long after I got my position, I started doing some extracurricular ghosting. I told you that. What I didn't tell you was that I saved a few bombs from an old mission and replanted them in that lab." Jasper was gaping. I could practically hear it. His arms grew slack around my stomach as he took this new information in. "All I need to do is press one little button. The fire will be my diversion as is slip into the observation room, grab the kid, and get the hell out of there.

"I've thought this through," I reasoned. "They can't look for me forever. We can run away after I come back. They'll never find us." Jasper let out a resigned sigh. He knew I wouldn't budge on this.

"Please come back safe," was his final plea.

I left later that night knowing that "safe" wasn't part of my future. I couldn't come back.

_I'm sorry Jasper…_

**We're nearing the end people… I'm guestimating 5 or 6 more chapters tops.**

**As far as the contest goes, I've been nominated for 6 categories. To make it to the finals, I need:**

**1 more for "Best All Human"  
1 more for "Best OC"  
2 more for "Best Jasper Story"  
2 more for "Best Bella Story"**

**I'm in the finals already for "Best Emotional Breakdown" and "Best Story In Progress."**

**I'll keep you all posted.**

**Thanks to everyone that has reviewed, favorited, nominated, and subscribed to my stories so far. I have another Twilight fanfic called Friday Night Fairytale. Check it out if you haven't already.**


	15. Nominations

So it turns out the nominations have opened back up again until tomorrow. There are 5 more categories that OOSOOM fits into:

Best Non-Cannon Couples

Best Dream

Best Fight (I have had a few fight scenes, haven't I?)

Best Jasper

Best Bella

As far as the format, you just have to list the category, then 'Out of Sight, Out of Mind?' by Back Away Slowly Then Run, then the link. You are allowed to nominate the same story for multiple categories. If you guys have the time to nominate me, that'd be awesome! This is the link. Replace the (dot) with a real dot...

http://forum(dot)fanfiction(dot)net/topic/66481/20624122/12/#21637285

After the nomination stuff ends, I'll let you guys know what categories I'm in for the final vote.

Thanks for reading,

Back Away Slowly ^-^


	16. IB Swan

**Sorry it's been so long. Hopefully, this is worth the wait. Make sure you read the author's note at the bottom. Enjoy.**

**IB Swan**

_Jasper_

Last night was hell. When Bella told me that she'd be "disappearing" for a while, I assumed she would be hiding out in a cave or a forest or something. Instead, she's going on a suicide mission. Sure, Bella might survive a burning building. She did manage escape from that bombing, after all. Had she not heard the ticking, Claude, Bella, and I would all be dead. Thinking about that didn't do anything for my frayed nerves though.

I wandered absently around Bella's pitch-black room. It had only been two or three months, yet I was already freakishly acclimated to absolute darkness. Imagining myself pre-Bella seemed almost wrong. What was life like a year ago? _Five months_ ago? I couldn't remember. What did I worry about back then, or look forward to? Did my thoughts really revolve around simple things like homework and sleeping in on Saturdays? They seemed almost petty compared to the hardcore training and dangerous missions I was involved in now.

Shuffling papers pulled me from my thoughts. _What-?_ I shifted my weight and heard the papers rustle again. Reaching down and feeling around my feet, my hands brushed against a pile of papers that had spilled out of a file folder. Out of curiosity, I scooped them up and carried them out of Bella's room, down the hall, up the stairs, and into the kitchen. I froze when I realized I wasn't alone.

"How did you get in here?" I sputtered in surprise. Sitting in Phil's chair at the head of the kitchen table was Baron, sipping a coffee and reading the newspaper.

"'Bout time you came up here," Baron drawled. "The door was unlocked, so I let myself in." I gave Baron a weirded out look before taking the seat across from him. "I can help, you know."

"With what, exactly?" I asked suspiciously. Baron looked carefully at me before the folder caught his eye. His dull grey eye immediately lit up in recognition.

"Where did you get that?"

"Get what?" I looked down at the file and realized it was the IB Swan file that spooked Bella out before. Since I hadn't been going to work, I decided to keep the file with me while I stayed at Bella's. It must've fallen out of my bag and onto the floor. "Bella found it somewhere. She asked me what it was, then told me to hide it." I slid it closer to myself, out of his reach. Baron rolled his eye.

"I already know all that stuff anyway," he pointed out. "Want me to tell you more about it? Those lab rats are crappy notetakers." Huh. Did the lab rat thing start with him or Bella?

"Fine," I relented. It couldn't do any harm.

"Alright. First page." I opened the folder and gagged a little. "You'll be doing that a lot," he warned.

"Thanks for the heads up." The first page was a bunch of pictures of what I assumed to be Bella in her 'tube baby' days. "I don't need any details on these." There were sixteen pictures of a purple alien baby looking thing at different stages of growth. They definitely weren't cute. I'll say that much.

I hastily turned the page, only to find more pictures. These looked more normal though. Bella would've been a newborn. Her skin was a ghostly white that contrasted immensely with her dark, wispy hair. Her eyes were closed in each of the four pictures. Luminescent purple lines ran up the insides of her arms. Veins?_ "Purple…?"_ was scrawled at the bottom of the page.

"Her blood is an ultraviolet color?" I asked. In retrospect, the dried blood on her clothes and hands did look a little discolored. The blood from her hand tasted off too. Not that I taste blood often. Still, how hadn't I noticed that?

"It depends on her blood's concentration," Baron explained. "Bella has another chemical in her blood that causes it to change color like that." The extra chemical must be the one Bella told me about. "When the concentration is low, her blood looks pretty normal; when the concentration is high, her blood does have an ultraviolet look to it."

I flipped to the page and my stomach lurched. There was a picture of a miniature Bella in a hospital gown. Her dark, wild hair was cut short. It didn't even reach her shoulders. Long, jagged scars marred the sickly pale skin of her arms and legs. One started at her wrist and stretched all the way to her armpit. Those scars must have come from the lab rats…

Then there were her eyes. I'd never gotten a good look at them before. In the picture, each entire eye was a dark purple color that matched her veins. No pupils or corneas were visible beneath the violet. They glowed eerily from the flash of the camera. According to the caption, she was "approximately 100 months." Her habit of wearing long sleeves was making more and more sense. If she was this scarred at just 8 years old, I couldn't begin to imagine how many scars she has now.

"I'm thinking Bella's already told you about the chemical harvesting?" Baron asked blandly. _Chemical what?_

"No. I don't remember her mentioning that." What else don't I know?

"When the lab rats first found out why Bella's blood was so unusual, they started taking samples." We both gazed down at the pinkish purple scar running up the inside little Bella's arm. "Once they realized how powerful the chemical was, they got greedy and took larger amounts. Eventually, they just slashed Bella's skin for blood instead of using capillary tubes and test tubes."

All I could do was gape. Do people _besides psychopaths_ actually do things like that?

Suddenly, Baron looked up from the picture and turned his eye warily toward me. "I don't think you should look at any more of these."

"Why?" Did I really want to know?

"The pictures only get worse from here," he warned. Though part of me agreed that I should stop for my sanity's sake, if nothing else, there was also the stupid, curious teenager part that pushed me to go on. The second I turned the page, I regretted my decision.

The image on the next page was absolutely horrendous. I slapped a hand over my mouth and ran to the trashcan. Over my coughing and retching, I heard Barron say, "Holy shit! I never saw that one!"

"Explain!" I managed, doubled over the trash.

"They didn't tell me much, but when Bella was eight the lab rats decided she was old enough to handle some 'minor tests.'" I wiped my mouth and sent him a glare over the rim of the trashcan. "Their words, not mine!"

I stood up and walked shakily back to the table before collapsing into my chair. "How is that a minor test?" I spat, jabbing my finger at the picture.

In the picture, thick metal bands pinned Bella's arms above her head. Her legs and neck were held down to the table by the same metal strips. A small side table held a variety of cutting and prodding tools. It looked more like torture than research. The famous y-cut had already been done, and the skin was pulled back to reveal her purple, bloody insides. But what made me physically ill wasn't the blood pouring from the gaping wound or the organs barely visible under the deep pool of dark purple. It was Bella's bloody face. Her mouth was set in a painful grimace, and her narrowed eyes glowed dully in anguish.

"They claimed that they messed up in making her, and wanted to find out what went wrong with the engineering they did, so they thought the best solution was to look around for any other major changes." Baron glared down at the picture. "It looks like they performed a live autopsy. They didn't tell me _anything_ about _that_."

"She was conscious," I pointed out. My stomach heaved, and I tore my eyes away from Bella's pain stricken face.

"I doubt she had painkillers," Baron added. "Bella is much tougher than she's credited for."

My head swam as I tried to take everything in. All I could think was… _She's going back there!_

Baron's phone rang, and he quietly left me to my muddled thoughts.

XxXxXxXxXxXxXxXx

_Bella_

A loud _bang_ resonated through the quiet night. That was my cue. I jumped out of the tree and ghosted through the crowd of frantic lab rats escaping through the front door. They didn't notice me, as expected. The fire was on the second floor. I wandered through the chaotic halls of the first floor until I came across the Observation Room. No doubt the child was still locked in there.

After a swift kick, the door flew off his hinges. A panicked screech came from the far corner and I moved toward it. "Samson?" I called softly. "There's a fire. We need to leave." Reaching out, I found a little arm. I gave it a gentle tug. "I'll get you to a safe place, okay? Just climb on my back." Cautiously, Samson wrapped his arms around my neck from behind. I slowly reached back and rubbed his head. "We're gonna go really fast now, okay?" He gave a little nod.

Seconds later, a loud crash sounded above us. I was on my feet and out the door before the glass could rain down on us. "Hang on tight." Another bang erupted in my ears as the second bomb went off. That one was on the third floor. Two more exploded simultaneously on the fifth and sixth floors a minute later.

Just before I reached the door, the ceiling collapsed. I yanked Samson off my back and crouched over him, waiting for the debris to settle. A loud yelp escaped my throat as a flaming piece of wreckage fell on my back. I shook it off and scooped Samson back up. We couldn't wait it out anymore. A blast of heat nearly knocked me off my feet as I sprinted out the door.

"You hurt?" I asked. My back was searing from the new burn. I had to move Samson so that he was in front of me. He shook his head against my chest, clinging to my shirt for dear life. "Good. That makes one of us." I felt him look up at me. "Don't worry about me."

A mile of running later, I finally slowed down. "We still have nine miles ahead of us," I sighed. "We've gone one." My words were met with silence. "So you don't talk. Or was this just too traumatizing for you?" Samson shook his head. "Blind and mute, huh? Well aren't we peas in a pod?" He just rested his head on my shoulder. I vaguely wondered why he knew so much English. The _lab rats_ didn't teach me anything. Teach… That made me wonder if the boy knew who was carrying him.

"Do you know who I am?" He hesitated before nodding yes. "And you don't have a problem with that?" He patted the shoulder that his head wasn't resting on.

"Then what—did the lab rats say bad things about me?" To that Samson nodded enthusiastically. I figured as much… "And you don't care what they say." I concluded. Again, he nodded. "Looks like we have a lot in common. We'll get along just fine." The rest of the ten mile walk went in silence.

XxXxXxXxXxXxXxXx

The sun was beginning to rise as I stepped into the trees. It had been years since I last came here. The thick foliage and earthy smell immediately relaxed my tense muscles. Exhausted, I wandered slowly to my little meadow in the middle of the forest. I set Samson down and pulled out my phone.

"These people are my friends."I pointed to the screen, thankful that Claude had taken a picture of everyone and set it as the background. "A man is going to come and pick you up. He'll take you to my friends, okay?" Samson didn't nod. He sat quietly, as if waiting for me to continue. "What?" He poked my arm.

"Oh. I can't go. There's some stuff I need to take care of," I explained vaguely. "I'm staying with you until someone comes, but I won't be going with you. Hold on." I flipped my phone open again and called Baron. "We're here."

"That was fast! How are you two?"

"I'm a little crispy." Samson twitched, then walked behind me. "But Samson is fine."

"Crispy?" he asked guardedly.

"It's not that-Ow! Gah!" I swatted Samson's hand away from my back and felt him shake his head. Brat. He sat back down in front of me and listened intently.

"What just happened?"

"The little sadist poked my burn. Seriously though, don't worry. I'll be fine."

"You better. Your little friend isn't too thrilled about this plan of yours." A wave of guilt crashed over my head.

"How is he?" Samson cocked his head. "One of my friends," I explained. He nodded in understanding.

"Not great. Your Jasper found a picture of the 'autopsy' way back when." _Oh no…_

"Had I known there was a picture like _that_, I never would've let him keep the folder."

"I know," Baron sighed. He seemed hesitant.

"What?"

"He actually threw up when he saw it. Poor kid is worried sick." The guilt was suffocating. "Are you sure you can't come back here? Jasper doesn't like the way this is playing out. He's getting antsy."

I chewed on my lip and tried to think of a safer alternative, but nothing came to me. "We don't know for sure how this is going to pan out. Maybe everything will fall into place and you guys will be able to move on with your lives."

"And you'll be dead. And Jasper will be miserable. Then he'll be dead too." I flinched.

"Jasper doesn't need me," I reasoned. "He was fine before I came along, and he will also be fine after I'm gone. With me, he'd always be on the run. Who wants to live like that?"

"Do the boy a favor and don't get yourself killed," he relented. "I'll be there soon."

XxXxXxXxXxXxXxXx

_Baron_

Jasper was pacing anxiously around the living room when I walked back in. With a few minutes to spare before I had to leave, I sat down on the couch and turned on the tv.

"Who were you talking to?" Jasper asked. The poor kid was a complete wreck. The circles under his eyes were as dark as my skin, but the rest of his face was as pale as Bella's used to be.

"Someone called to tell me I had a delivery." If Jasper knew I talked to Bella and planned on leaving her by herself with an injury—I'd have to look at that—he'd flip his shit for sure. "I need to leave in a few-" Jasper's eyes went wide, and I thought I was busted until I followed his shocked gaze to the tv. The news was on.

I turned up the volume and we listened intently. "We have a special report! The famous blind runaway has been found!" Jasper's face became a whole new shade of pale. "Sources say that Bella McCarty, a high school student in Forks, Washington, may, in reality, be Isabella Swan!"

The reporter continued to explain as a couple of pictures appeared on the screen. On the left was a doctored picture of a scar-free 8-year-old Isabella, and on the right was a picture of the present teenaged Bella. "As you can see, the resemblance is striking. We have yet to figure out where Isabella was before she appeared in Washington a few months ago."

Jasper slouched into the chair next to me. "How the hell is she going to hide now? There's no way she can come back here." He moaned and put his face in his hands.

"She'll figure something out." I was just about to get up when another report caught my attention.

"I'm reporting from Forks, Washington, present home of _the_ Isabella-"

"God help us." Jasper groaned.

"-with this news flash. Several explosions occurred just hours ago in this lab building reportedly owned by the parents of Isabella. Behind me you can see that the entire building was leveled in the fiery attack. Luckily, the flames were easily contained. Could this have anything to do with Isabella's sudden reappearance? And now, back to the weather with-"

"I don't like this. Be sure to keep the doors and windows locked and the blinds closed." I warned. "I have a feeling there will be a lot of activity around here for a while."

With that said, I slipped out the back door and jogged the two blocks to my car. "Where am I going to take the kid if I can't bring him back here?" I wondered quietly.

XxXxXxXxXxXxXxXx

It didn't take long to get to the forest. I parked my car just inside the entrance and stepped onto the barely treaded, leaf-covered path. Ten minutes later, I came upon a gaping hole in the thick mass of trees.

Bella and Samson were sitting together along the right edge. Samson's head was tilted to the side as he listened to Bella's story. Suddenly, they both froze. Samson turned warily and met my gaze with a nervous one of his own.

"Baron?" Bella questioned.

"Yeah, it's me." I confirmed. Not many people could find this place.

Bella stood and scooped Samson off the ground before walking cautiously toward me. She stopped a few feet away and pursed her lips.

"What is it?" she suddenly asked. Samson looked up at her, then at me, then back at Bella.

"What's what?" I really didn't know what she was talking about.

"You have something you want to tell me, don't you?" She cocked her head. Samson gave me a suspicious glance and locked his arms around Bella's neck.

Oh that. "The fire you made is already on the news," I started. Bella nodded, waiting for me to continue. "They connected the building with your 'parents'." Again, she nodded. "But there was another report," I finally stated.

Bella's jaw tensed. "What kind of report?"

"One linking runaway Isabella to Jasper's friend Bella," I admitted.

"Dammit. You can't take Samson back to Phil's now, can you?" Samson looked up at her nervously, and she patted him on the head. "We'll figure something out."

"What about you? He knows where to find you, but you can't go anywhere else without being recognized. If he 'insider' at Ghost saw the report about the lab already, there isn't much time 'til he starts snooping around here."

"I know that. Just take Samson and let me take care of myself," Bella replied tensely. Samson glared up at her before reaching behind her back. Bella yelped in surprise, nearly dropping him. "You little-"

"That reminds me." Samson looked up at me, his arms back around Bella's neck. "Turn around." I wanted a look at that burn.

"Why?" She took a step backwards.

"You sure as hell know why." It must be awful if she won't let me see it.

"It's fine," she tried to assure me. I wasn't convinced.

"Then you shouldn't mind if I look at it," I reasoned.

Bella took a tentative step back. "No."

I turned my attention to Samson; he seemed worried about her. "How bad is her burn?" He scrunched up his face and shook his head. I took that as a 'not good' and turned back to Bella. "I'm not leaving until I see it."

With a huff, Bella shook her bangs out of her eyes and sent me a wicked death glare. Her featureless eyes were much more intimidating than the average pupil-and-cornea containing eyes. I cringed, and then did a double take. Her eyes were _red_.

"Bella," I questioned hesitantly, "have you been caught in the sun recently?" There wasn't a single trace of purple in her eyes.

"A week or two ago. Why?"

"Have you been healing slower than usual?" I continued.

"Half speed maybe?" Bella and Samson gave me the same questioning look.

"Didn't you know that chemical you've got reacts to sunlight?"

"Everyone told me I was just allergic! Why didn't-" Bella stiffened. "Shit!" she whispered. "Take Samson and run back the way you came. We have company."

"Why-" Bella shoved Samson into my arms.

"No questions. Just move!" she commanded. Bella was in Ghost mode. Her head whipped around and she gave me a push toward the trail. I turned just in time to see her back before she darted into the trees.

The first few layers of skin were gone. Beneath them were black, brown, white, and pink patches of singed flesh coated in glistening, red blood.

I fought against the urge to follow her, and grabbed the boy. "Let's get out of here."

This can't end well.

**We're nearing the end people! Be sure to review. That'll make me update faster.**

**As I'm sure you've noticed, the nominations have closed. I'm in the final voting for three categories:**

**Best Emotional Breakdown: ****http://forum(dot)fanfiction(dot)net/topic/69076/21486726/1/**

**Best Bella Story: ****http://forum(dot)fanfiction(dot)net/topic/69076/21407164/1/**

**Best Fanfic in Progress: ****http://forum(dot)fanfiction(dot)net/topic/69076/21487841/1/**

**The instructions on how to vote are here: ****http://forum(dot)fanfiction(dot)net/topic/69076/21584620/1/ but you should be able to figure it out on your own. Vote when you get the chance.**


	17. Cautiously Reckless

**Sorry it's been so long since I've updated! I had a serious case of writer's block. The contest closed a while ago and I got into the top 3 in two categories, so I'm happy. This week is spring break, so I'll try to update again if I can.**

**Cautiously Reckless**

_Bella_

I'd anticipated the ambush. What I hadn't expected was getting shot in the neck with some type of Bella-proof tranquilizer dart. They didn't even need to use it. Wasn't it obvious that_ I_ was coming to _them? _Besides, I was completely exhausted.

In under five hours, I'd managed to run ten miles with a serious injury, carrying a five-year-old. The vast majority of my back was just one huge burn. If I were a "normal" person, I'd be toast. Literally. There's no way a typical human being could move, let alone run, like this.

The spot that the dart hit tingled momentarily, then started to burn. With a painful gasp—the dart was far worse than the burns on my back—I collapsed onto a bed of leaves. My neck pulsated as the strange dart pumped a thick liquid through my enflamed neck. My muscles continued to weaken as the dart's effect spread to my arms and legs.

"Such a small dose works this fast?" someone questioned.

"You're right. We'll look into it once we get back," another person reasoned.

"Alright. Who wants to pick it up?"

"I will!" a man volunteered. "Hard to believe that little mutant could grow up so pretty."

"Oh please. Here, let me get it. You move the van closer so- Oh my- Look!" I barely noticed my hair being moved away from my back. "Its entire back is fried! That's disgusting!"

"Now we know who the arsonist is." I felt a couple hands grab my arms and yank me up. They threw me over the top of something, and soon, the voices faded and I finally got some sleep.

XxXxXxXxXxXxXxXx

_Jasper_

I would've expected an angry crowd wielding pitch forks and torches after seeing that newsclip, but Bella was still "on vacation in the mountains," so only one or two camera crews showed up to get some footage of the house. No one even bothered knocking on the door looking for an interview. Even if they wanted one, the blinds were all closed so it looked like no one was home.

Stressed out of my mind, I paced around the pitch black basement looking for something to kill time.

Baron had said he needed to pick up a "delivery," but that was over an hour ago. It was almost seven at night. My pacing picked up as my thoughts flowed faster through my brain. Was it something to help us_? No one but me should even know he's here. Who could he be seeing? What if he didn't switch sides after all? _I stopped.

_No. That can't be it_. _Bella acted like she trusted Baron when they talked before. She wouldn't have just left him here if she thought he was going to try something_.

I jumped when my phone suddenly rang. "Hello?"

"_Jasper? This is Claude_." He sounded tense. "_I know you're not up to it but we're gonna need you at work tonight. It's Hell over here and not even a third of the agents have shown up yet_." Yelling echoed over the phone and I strained to make out what was happening.

"Claude, what's going on?" I didn't like the way things were sounding over there.

"Some _of our agents saw that story on the news about Bella. Since she's been gone for a while now without an explanation, they're freaking out over it. There was that bombing, too. I'm starting to wonder if they think she is responsible for that_…" His voice trailed off toward the end.

"Why-" I froze. No one knew about Bella's plan. They didn't even know about her _extracurricular ghosting_. "What exactly are they doing over there?" A loud slam punctuated my question.

"_That was just a door. All they're doing now is asking questions. Still, it's not like I have answers for any of them. I thought Bella was killed in that explosion, but I don't have a damn clue anymore. Could she really be alive?_"

Even I didn't know the answer to that anymore. "Chances aren't that great, but I guess it's possible," I allowed.

"_Ugh. I don't wanna think about it anymore_," he groaned. "_So are you coming?_"

"I guess." I didn't want to, but it didn't sound like I had much of a choice. I flipped my phone shut and wandered though the dark to Bella's room to find my work clothes.

XxXxXxXxXxXxXxXx

Claude was right. This place is Hell. The second I stepped out of my car, a swarm of agents crowded around me and bombarded me with questions.

"You're Bella's friend, right? So you know what's going on, don't you?"

"Where's Bella?"

"She isn't really _the_ Isabella, is she? She can obviously see."

"Did Bella really blow that place up?"

"Just how much do you know?"

I tried settling them down. "Listen. I'm not really sure what is going on anymore, but I'll answer as many questions as I can once we get inside." I couldn't tell them everything, but I could at least give them something. They quieted down and followed me into the McCarty Law building where the real chaos was.

"Would you people shut up? Dammit! Do you really think any of this will get you your answers?" Everyone grew silent as they processed what Claude had said. They turned quietly toward me as I stepped off the elevator. "Thank God," I heard Claude mumble. He made his way through the crowd and stopped in front of me.

"You know a little about what's going on, right?" Claude lowered his voice so only I could hear him. The agents waited impatiently while we spoke.

"Yeah. I'm not sure what's happening now though." My eyes wandered over the papers scattered across the floor, the fallen chairs, and the disgruntled faces of the agents. "I'll tell them what I can." Claude nodded in agreement.

He looked exhausted. Claude's normally pale face was a chalky white. The purple stripes in his hair were faded and he had dark circles under his eyes that rivaled the ones under mine. The dark circles seemed to make his eyes look duller, almost lifeless.

Suddenly I remembered. "Where's Jasmine?" It was weird to see Claude without her.

"At home. We've been taking turns coming to work since the "accident" with Bella's obstacle course. She said I needed down time, so now I'm returning the favor." Hearing that, I felt selfish for moping so long. Claude was in the exact same position I was. Now wasn't the time to worry about that though.

I leaned to the right to talk to the crowd. "Everyone go into the conference room. We have a lot to discuss." It shifted, then began to shuffle eagerly down the hall. Claude and I followed behind reluctantly. It's going to be a long night.

XxXxXxXxXxXxXxXx

An hour and a half into the meeting, my phone went off again. I was planning on ignoring it, but the ringtone made me decide otherwise. _Hello, I'm your martyr_. My eyes bugged out when I recognized the lyrics.

"Sorry, guys. I'll be back in a little while." I flipped my phone open as I ran into the hallway.

"Hello?" _Bella?_

"_Jasper! This is Baron_." How did he get Bella's phone?

"How do you have Bella's phone?" I didn't like this.

"_I'll explain later. I have the delivery—no offense—and wanted to know where you want to meet me for it_." _What?_

"How was that offensive? What delivery? You're not telling me anything."

"_Tell you later. Now where do you want me? No, not you."_ _Huh?_

"Are you saying you don't want an answer?" _Then why ask?_ It sounded like he had someone else in the car with him.

"_No. I want an answer. Just tell me where to take him-it-so I can meet you there_."

"Well, I'm at work right now, so..." Why is he acting so weird? And did he say 'he'?

"_Hm. I can't take him-it—no offence—there so where should I meet you after you leave?"_

"Uh…" I struggled to process what he said. _What the hell is wrong with him?_ "Emmett and Phil will be back at Bella's by the time I get there. Maybe my house?" I heard a light knock and turned to see a confused Claude. _Hold on_, I mouthed. He nodded in understanding.

"_Works for me. You might want to tell Phil and Emmett about this though. We might need them. Oh well. Follow your gut. Bye_." The line went dead and I stuffed my phone back into my pocket.

"That was Bella's ringtone, wasn't it?" Claude asked.

"Yeah," I sighed. "It wasn't her though."

Claude and the agents in the meeting knew three things now: 1)Bella is indeed _the_ Isabella, 2)She was in a bad situation as Isabella and was forced to run away, and 3)She could very well be dead right now... Not because of the explosion from before, but because she was trying to save someone that is stuck in her old pair of shoes, you could say.

"So who was it?" Claude asked warily.

"Someone from her time as Isabella. He's on our side, as far as I know." Claude didn't seem to believe me. "Bella talked to him before she left last night. Do you really think she'd tell him her plan if she didn't trust him?"

That thought convinced me as well as him. I should've known to trust Bella's judgment. Sure, she had decided to fly through a burning building like Superman to save the boy trapped inside, but she wasn't nearly as reckless with other peoples' lives.

"Fine," Claude said. "Meet him at my place. You don't want anyone else involved, right?"

I stared at him in shock. "Yeah. Thanks."

"No problem. We should head back." Claude gestured to the meeting room and we both walked back in_. Time to wrap things up_.

XxXxXxXxXxXxXxXx

"Let me see if I've got this right," I started. "Your 'delivery' was Samson, the boy Bella wanted to save, right?" Baron nodded. "And she did," I added. Again, Baron nodded. "Then she gave him her cell phone to make sure he ended up with the right people." Me and Claude and Jasmine, basically. Samson nodded this time, so I directed the next question to him.

"Then the lab rats ambushed you guys and she made you leave?" The boy's eyes dropped to the ground, and he nodded solemnly. "Bella was injured?" Samson looked up at me and we locked gazes. Suddenly, my stomach dropped. "How bad?" Samson's eyes turned to Baron for an explanation.

"Bella had second and third degree burns all over her back. I only got a glimpse, but they looked serious." Baron's face scrunched up. "I don't know how she was able to behave so normally."

"She's good at hiding those types of things, isn't she?" Images of the sunburns I'd seen on her arms and stomach less than a month ago flashed through my mind. "Is there any way Bella could be immune to the pain from a burn? That time she got stuck in the sun, her burns were only first or second degree, but she acted like they weren't even there."

This time Baron looked down at Samson, who shook his head. His light brown hair flopped into his rusted orange eyes. Samson patted himself on the back, and then cringed. "That's right!" Baron remembered. "Bella cringed when Samson poked her back," he translated.

"He did what?" I deadpanned. Why would he touch Bella's back if he knew she was injured.

The boy shrunk back at my reaction. His face seemed to fall one shade paler than its already light grayish color. "Don't mind him," Baron confided. He turned to me to explain. "Bella was trying to hide the damage, so Samson tried to show me, himself."

My gaze shifted back to the boy. Other than being covered in ashes and having a few scratches here and there, he looked perfectly fine. No burns, no gashes… Bella must've taken all the damage.

"Hey, it's ten o'clock," Claude pointed out. "We should see if there's any more about Bella on the news." He turned to Jasmine on the couch and she tossed him the remote. Baron and Samson sat on the loveseat and Claude and I settled onto the couch with Jasmine as Claude flipped on the TV.

Tonight I am in Forks, Washington. Behind me is the lab building that was leveled by several explosions late last night. These explosions are rumored to have a relation to the Isabella Case that was closed a few years ago. The connection has yet to be decided…

A strange coughing noise coming from my right snatched my attention. I turned to see Samson's orange eyes glowing in excitement as he yanked on Baron's shirt. Samson looked at me, then pointed to the TV with wide eyes.

"Yeah. That's the building Bella pulled you out of." Why was he so wound up?

Samson shook his head and pointed at the TV again. When we didn't get it, he jumped up and ran over to the TV. He pointed at the side of the lab.

Suddenly, Jasmine gasped. She snatched up the remote and hit pause. "See those people in the background?" After a minute, I was able to make out a few human figures standing beside the lab building. "They're carrying something!"

"Holy shit!" Claude yelled. "It looks like a person!" We all shared a grave look before sprinting to the garage. Everyone piled into Baron's van, and he floored it all the way to the not-so-abandoned lab building.

**Hope you liked it. The story's picking up again. Reviews make me update faster.**


	18. Love Bite

**Love Bite**

_Claude_

Everything was happening so fast. The explosion, nearly being buried alive, Bella disappearing, Ghost being thrown into chaos, that lab burning down, Bella being linked to it, Bella being Isabella, Samson's sudden appearance, now this.

Everyone followed quickly behind Samson, the five-year-old boy Bella had just saved, to the ruins of the old lab building. It was a risky move relying on a child to find Bella, but what else could we do? Besides, I'd spent the past how many years following a blind girl into some of the most dangerous places I've ever heard of? Had it really been less than five years?

We watched as Samson glanced around, getting a feel for where everything was. He was a lot like his sister—they're siblings, right?—with his innate ability to adapt to unusual situations and to lead people. Those characteristics were what landed Bella such a high position in the organization in such a short amount of time.

If Bella wasn't so resilient, none of us would be where we are now. We wouldn't even know each other. She wouldn't have introduced me to Jasmine and everyone else. Baron is only here to help Bella. Samson is only here because of Bella. None of us, save Baron, even knew he existed until just recently. Jasper wouldn't have known any of us unless he started hanging out with Emmett. Yeah, right. None of us would've known Emmett either, so I guess it wouldn't have mattered anyway.

I was snapped out of my thoughts when Samson motioned for us to follow him again. He glided lithely through the wreckage to the crumbled remains of the wall we had seen on the news and started digging at the dirt and ashes around it.

Samson stopped and looked up at us, his rusted orange eyes glowing in the dark. We waded through the damage to where he was sitting and gaped. In front of him was a three-foot wooden trapdoor. Samson gave it a light knock and we listened to the hollow echo. Now we know where those people went. Smart kid.

Baron stepped up from behind us and gave the door a good yank. It flew open with an aggravated creak. Jasper, Jasmine, Baron, Samson and I all shared a look clearly asking, "Who wants to go first?" After a minute, Samson shrugged, then turned on his heel and jumped into the hole. One-by-one, we reluctantly followed the brave little five-year-old into the pitch black depths.

After a while, everyone seemed to have their bearings. I was surprised to see Jasper and Samson leading the pack. They adapted to the dark a lot faster than Jasmine, Baron, and I. Then again, Samson was a special case and Jasper had spent quite a bit of time with Bella, so their fast adaptions made sense in retrospect.

We continued along until Jasper and Samson froze. "Someone's coming this way," Jasper warned. Until the man with the flashlight passed, we stood noiselessly with our backs to the walls. The total darkness really did play to our advantage here.

Once the light from the man's flashlight was well out of sight, we continued on. Two lefts, two rights, and another left later, we came across a room with dim, flickering lights that cast an eerie yellow over the old lab equipment inside.

To the far left was a cot surrounded by machines. A heart monitor, respirator, IV bags and tubes and needles. In the back were several flatscreen monitors lining the entire wall with strange, complex computers sitting beneath them. On the right was a huge cylinder that looked around three feet in diameter that went from the floor to the ceiling. It seemed to be the source of the light. Dangling on the inside of it were dozens of IV tubes. I saw Samson shiver in the corner of my eye as he looked up at them too.

"Bella!" Jasmine whisper-yelled. The rest of us turned to see her standing beside the cot on the other side of the room. We rushed over and a collective gasp echoed throughout the room.

On the cot, Bella was tied face down with her arms, legs, and neck tied down. Her back looked disgusting, even in the dim lighting. The singed skin glowed sickly in the light coming from the cylinder behind us. Jasper reached carefully to brush Bella's hair away from her back and her neck, revealing an IV that had been shoved into her neck.

"What are they doing to her?" Jasper wondered aloud. Samson tapped him on the back and motioned for him to take the IV out. "Do you know what's in it?" Samson nodded. "Do I want to know?" Samson quickly shook his head. "I'll take your word for it, then," Jasper decided before carefully pulling the IV out. We all worked to loosen the bindings on Bella's arms and legs and neck until we heard someone coming.

Luckily, the cot was high enough off the ground that we could all easily hide under it. Samson's eyes glowed bright with worry as the footsteps neared the cot. Jasper gave him a gentle pat on the shoulder to calm him down.

"Ugh. Disgusting," the man said. "Should've gotten rid of it when they had the chance, but _no_ they just had to drag things out, didn't they?" The footsteps moved farther away and clicking resounded from the back of the room. "Little freak was too interesting to just throw away, I guess. Could've saved itself a lot of trouble if it were born a boy. Doc really can't stand girls. Oh well." A collective scowl was shared as each of us listened to the man talk about Bella.

The footsteps came closer again as the man stood over Bella. "Those are some ugly burns you've got there." A shift on the bed made us glance up. Is she awake? "Oh, did that hurt? It's just a burn. You can deal with it." There was another subtle shift, and I looked toward Jasmine. She grimaced and we waited anxiously, knowing what was about to happen. "Little monsters don't get help from the good guys. You've caused a lot of trouble, after all. Too bad none of those bullets struck. You never drowned either. Like a little cockroach, you just won't die, will you?

A loud ripping sound reverberated through the room and down the hall as Bella tore through the remains of her restraints. The ripping was followed by an even louder vehement growl. A few more pairs of footsteps sounded from the hallway and three more men quickly entered the room.

"What did you do?" one of them asked, horrified.

"Nothing! She just tore out of the binding like it was wet toilet paper!"

"Quick! Grab the tranquilizer gun!" a third man yelled. Good idea. _Announce_ that you're getting the tranquilizer gun.

Before the man by the cot could take another step, Bella leapt off the cot. A tearing sound ripped through the air, followed by an earsplitting scream. Seconds later, the man fell to the ground beside us with a thud. The other three men were silent, frozen in fear. Bella padded across the room and stood wordlessly in front of them.

"Run," one of them whispered. "Get the gun while I distract it." Yet another brilliant idea.

Bella tensed and fell into a crouch. The "decoy" went to take a step and it was over in the blink of an eye. A second later, all three of the remaining men were on the ground.

I turned and reluctantly looked at the first man, the one lying beside the cot. He was lying face down with his head turned toward us. His throat was slashed open and blood continued to pour from it.

The other three weren't any better. One had a broken neck. Another's nose was completely smashed in, probably causing brain damage. The last one didn't appear to have any signs of an injury, but when I looked again, I realized she'd probably punched him in the throat, breaking his Adam's apple. Ouch. Never mess with Bella. Wait… Where is Bella?

I looked around and saw her standing a few feet away, giving Jasper the scariest death glare I've ever seen. Her bangs were flipped off to the side, revealing plain black eyes. No pupils, no irises, just black eyeballs. Her lips were curled up, showing off her sharp, white teeth.

Jasper's face was the opposite. His blue eyes were wide with terror and his face was paler than I've ever seen it before, which is saying something. He shook like a leaf as he tried to snap Bella out of her self-induced trance.

"Bella, c-calm down. Th-they can't h-hurt you anymore. I-I know you don't w-want people seeing your eyes, either, s-so let's just c-calm down and go h-home, o-okay?" He took a tentative step forward as Bella listened stiffly.

Slowly, Jasper took another step and reached up to brush Bella's hair back into her eyes. He kept his hand on her head, waiting for her to calm down. After a minute, she relaxed.

"We should really head back," Jasper said. Everyone muttered their agreements, and crawled from under the cot. We watched as Bella's legs shook, then finally gave out. Jasper caught her and picked her up, careful to avoid touching her back.

"Aw," Jasmine whispered next to me. I smiled down at her, and we walked back into the darkness. This was the best we'd both felt in weeks.

XxXxXxXxXxXxXxXx

_Jasmine_

_Thank God we found her alive!_ We hadn't been able to help her much since she escaped though. All of us were at the hospital. Bella was staying in an out-of-the-way room that no one but Carlisle ever visits. If anyone saw her like this, they'd freak out for sure. The only person brave enough to stand within reach of her was Jasper. The two of them were sitting face-to-face on her cot, Bella with her back facing the headboard, Jasper with his back facing us. _Those two are so cute!_

Claude and I stood just inside the doorway of Bella's room, watching Jasper talk to her. Bella hadn't said a word since we'd first seen her, which was a little odd. Judging from past experience with Bella, and stories I'd heard from her and Phil, I guessed it was because of the stress. Or maybe trauma. No one knows what all happened before we got there. Or what was being pumped through that IV into her neck. It looked like a goldish color, but the lighting wasn't very good.

Not only had she stopped speaking. Her overall mannerisms had changed too. Bella's normally calm, confident expression was replaced with an uneasy scowl. Her entire body looked tense, as if one false move on out part would have her leaping off her hospital bed and tearing out throats out. One of the reasons we were so reluctant to approach her. Each move she made was a jerk, like her muscles were locked so tight she had trouble using them.

Animalistic. That was a good word to describe her. She was acting like she was with her wolves agin, waiting impatiently for her prey to appear. No... That wasn't it. Bella was the "prey" awaiting her predator's strike. Obviously she didn't consider Jasper a threat though since she was listening to him talk, and letting him sit on the bed with her.

But could she understand him? Her English was extremely limited when she was with the wolves, so if she really had reverted back to that state... The thought startled me a little. What if she _couldn't_ understand him? I watched the two, but couldn't tell for sure.

"When they first looked at me, they didn't even notice," Jasper explained. "But then they did a double take and their jaws all dropped in shock!" he continued. Bella cocked her head as he went on with his story, using exaggerated hand motions to demonstrate certain parts. Bella's expression had gradually began to soften, I noticed.

Claude and I jumped when Bella's head suddenly whipped toward us. She seemed to turn to stone as her muscles locked and her face hardened. Her bangs had been blown away from her face by the sudden movement, revealing not purple, not red, but_ black _eyes.

"Have they ever been black before?" I asked Claude quietly, knowing full well Bella could hear me.

"No," Claude whispered. "Baron told me they should purple."

"What about red?" I asked, confused.

"That meant she wasn't healthy," Baron said from behind us. We jumped and spun around. Carlisle and Baron were standing just outside the door.

"Looks like Bella heard us coming." Baron gestured toward Bella, who had backed against the headboard. "We came with some stuff for her burns. She can't heal on her own anymore."

Jasper and Baron exchanged a look as Carlisle stepped slowly toward the bed.

"What do you mean, 'can't heal on her own anymore'?" Jasper glanced at Bella, then back to Baron.

"I did a little snooping around in some old lab files and found something," Baron stated vaguely.

"What are you talking about?" Jasper asked impatiently.

"Did you notice the color of the fluid being pumped through that IV last night?" Baron turned toward me with a knowing look. "You saw it, right?"

"Gold," I answered.

"Gold and red make what?" he continued.

"Orange?"

Suddenly, I saw Samson peek out from around Baron's leg by Bella's cot. When had he come in? Samson tugged anxiously on Baron's shirt and pointed to his own face.

"I knew you were a smart kid," Baron said.

Jasper, Claude, and I looked at Samson's face and realized what he was actually pointing to: his rusted orange eyes.

[AN- I was tempted to leave it off here, but then the title wouldn't make sense.]

"So the lab rats were shooting her up with the chemical they got from Samson," Jasper concluded with a scowl.

"Two smart kids," Baron said. "I read in the files that the two chemicals can react and cancel each others' effects out. There are three major problems with that. One, these two have been living with these chemicals in their blood for their whole lives. Their bodies don't know how to function without them. Two, the chemicals thicken when they combine, which limits circulation. Take that how you want. Three, those two chemicals create a toxin that poisons whoever has both in his or her system."

"So you're saying she'll die, regardless." Jasper moved closer to Bella, who was breathing heavily with her back still pressed against the headboard.

"She might be able to adapt to normal blood if we do a dialysis treatment right now," Baron confided.

"Why didn't you mention this earlier?" Claude asked angrily.

"I only found this file an hour ago, and from what I'd seen, I didn't think anyone would be too excited about trying to shove an IV into Bella's arm." He turned to Carlisle. "Will you be able to do this?"

"Yes, but we need to work quickly. Bella's burns have to be treated." He left quickly, then came back with what he needed. "So who wants to hold her down? Sedatives aren't an option, obviously." My eyes bugged out at the idea of holding Bella down when she was like this. Cutting her nails is one thing, but anything needle related was a completely different story.

"I'll do it," Jasper volunteered. Bless his recklessly brave soul. "Can we hurry though? She's looking worse by the second."


	19. Love Bite Continued

**So apparently my computer isn't saving documents the way it's supposed to even though I hit the little button like a million times. The end of my last chapter was cut (leaving you with an unintended cliffhanger... Sorry) and it was totally deleted. Hopefully it'll work this time and the title of the chapter will actually make sense. I left the beginning of Jasmine's POV on here so you'll know what's going on.**

**Love Bite [Continued]**

_Jasmine_

_Thank God we found her alive!_ We hadn't been able to help her much since she escaped though. All of us were at the hospital. Bella was staying in an out-of-the-way room that no one but Carlisle ever visits. If anyone saw her like this, they'd freak out for sure. The only person brave enough to stand within reach of her was Jasper. The two of them were sitting face-to-face on her cot, Bella with her back facing the headboard, Jasper with his back facing us. _Those two are so cute!_

Claude and I stood just inside the doorway of Bella's room, watching Jasper talk to her. Bella hadn't said a word since we'd first seen her, which was a little odd. Judging from past experience with Bella, and stories I'd heard from her and Phil, I guessed it was because of the stress. Or maybe trauma. No one knows what all happened before we got there. Or what was being pumped through that IV into her neck. It looked like a goldish color, but the lighting wasn't very good.

Not only had she stopped speaking. Her overall mannerisms had changed too. Bella's normally calm, confident expression was replaced with an uneasy scowl. Her entire body looked tense, as if one false move on out part would have her leaping off her hospital bed and tearing out throats out. One of the reasons we were so reluctant to approach her. Each move she made was a jerk, like her muscles were locked so tight she had trouble using them.

Animalistic. That was a good word to describe her. She was acting like she was with her wolves agin, waiting impatiently for her prey to appear. No... That wasn't it. Bella was the "prey" awaiting her predator's strike. Obviously she didn't consider Jasper a threat though since she was listening to him talk, and letting him sit on the bed with her.

But could she understand him? Her English was extremely limited when she was with the wolves, so if she really had reverted back to that state... The thought startled me a little. What if she _couldn't_ understand him? I watched the two, but couldn't tell for sure.

"When they first looked at me, they didn't even notice," Jasper explained. "But then they did a double take and their jaws all dropped in shock!" he continued. Bella cocked her head as he went on with his story, using exaggerated hand motions to demonstrate certain parts. Bella's expression had gradually began to soften, I noticed.

Claude and I jumped when Bella's head suddenly whipped toward us. She seemed to turn to stone as her muscles locked and her face hardened. Her bangs had been blown away from her face by the sudden movement, revealing not purple, not red, but_ black _eyes.

"Have they ever been black before?" I asked Claude quietly, knowing full well Bella could hear me.

"No," Claude whispered. "Baron told me they should purple."

"What about red?" I asked, confused.

"That meant she wasn't healthy," Baron said from behind us. We jumped and spun around. Carlisle and Baron were standing just outside the door.

"Looks like Bella heard us coming." Baron gestured toward Bella, who had backed against the headboard. "We came with some stuff for her burns. She can't heal on her own anymore."

Jasper and Baron exchanged a look as Carlisle stepped slowly toward the bed.

"What do you mean, 'can't heal on her own anymore'?" Jasper glanced at Bella, then back to Baron.

"I did a little snooping around in some old lab files and found something," Baron stated vaguely.

"What are you talking about?" Jasper asked impatiently.

"Did you notice the color of the fluid being pumped through that IV last night?" Baron turned toward me with a knowing look. "You saw it, right?"

"Gold," I answered.

"Gold and red make what?" he continued.

"Orange?"

Suddenly, I saw Samson peek out from around Baron's leg by Bella's cot. When had he come in? Samson tugged anxiously on Baron's shirt and pointed to his own face.

"I knew you were a smart kid," Baron said.

Jasper, Claude, and I looked at Samson's face and realized what he was actually pointing to: his rusted orange eyes.

"So the lab rats were shooting her up with the chemical they got from Samson," Jasper concluded with a scowl.

"Two smart kids," Baron said. "I read in the files that the two chemicals can react and cancel each others' effects out. There are three major problems with that. One, these two have been living with these chemicals in their blood for their whole lives. Their bodies don't know how to function without them. Two, the chemicals thicken when they combine, which limits circulation. Take that how you want. Three, those two chemicals create a toxin that poisons whoever has both in his or her system."

"So you're saying she'll die, regardless." Jasper moved closer to Bella, who was breathing heavily with her back still pressed against the headboard.

"She might be able to adapt to normal blood if we do a dialysis treatment right now," Baron confided.

"Why didn't you mention this earlier?" Claude asked angrily.

"I only found this file an hour ago, and from what I'd seen, I didn't think anyone would be too excited about trying to shove an IV into Bella's arm." He turned to Carlisle. "Will you be able to do this?"

"Yes, but we need to work quickly. Bella's burns have to be treated." He left quickly, then came back with what he needed. "So who wants to hold her down? Sedatives aren't an option, obviously." My eyes bugged out at the idea of holding Bella down when she was like this. Cutting her nails is one thing, but anything needle related was a completely different story.

"I'll do it," Jasper volunteered. Bless his recklessly brave soul. "Can we hurry though? She's looking worse by the second."

He was right. Bella had doubled over, silently heaving for air. Jasper moved closer to her, wanting to help. Carlisle took a step toward her, but she jumped backward, slamming her scalded back into the headboard. A meek whimper escaped her lips as she cringed away from the cold, now-bloody metal.

"That sounded painful," Claude commented. I nodded in agreement.

"Bella," Jasper called soothingly. "He won't hurt you. If we don't get this done quickly... You won't... Be able to get those burns taken care of," he improvised. We all waited anxiously for her to inch cautiously closer to Jasper. Once she was within reach, Jasper lifted her into his lap and wrapped his arm around her shoulders, pulling her into his chest. It would've been an 'aw' moment for sure, but now was not the time for 'aw' moments.

Carlisle slowly approached the two and explained the procedure as he set everything up. "First I need to plug this catheter into here." He turned and plugged the long tube he was holding into a big, white machine I hadn't noticed before. "On the other end are these two lumens. They'll need to be inserted into an arm or a leg." Carlisle gazed pointedly at Bella, who had tucked her legs under her and her arms between her and Jasper's chests. Carlisle sighed. Bella totally saw this coming.

"Bella," Jasper tried. "Can Carlisle borrow an arm for a minute?" She remained quiet, keeping her face nestled in the crook of his neck. Now is not the time for 'aw' moments! Jasper reached between them and carefully axtracted one of Bella's arms, holding it out to Carlisle. "Try to make it quick," he pleaded.

Carlisle nodded. "One of the lumens is going to take blood out of her body, while the other pumps it back in. Oops. I missed."

"Are you serious?" Jasper deadpanned.

"Of course not. I haven't done anything yet. You need to calm down, Jasper. Bella senses your stress." Everyone remained silent as Carlisle skillfully slipped the needles into place. Claude was the one to break the silence.

"Holy crap!" he whispered.

I looked up and followed his gaze to a wide-eyed, red-faced Jasper. I stared in confusion until I suddenly realized what had happened. Bella's mouth was on. Jasper's. NECK. "Um, is she biting him?"

"Looks like it from where I'm standing," Baron answered, humor evident in his voice.

"Your face is really red," Claude pointed out not-so-helpfully.

"Shut up!" Jasper snapped. Bella growled, and his face went from cherry red to blood red. "Sorry, Bella. They're okay." He sent Claude and Baron an icy glare. "For now," he added darkly. Claude and Baron smiled with mock innocence in return.

Carlisle looked up from Bella's arm and blanched. "Dear Lord! Jasper, are you alright?"

"Peachy. Shouldn't you be taping those needles in place or something?" he muttered.

I spent the rest of Bella's Hemodialysis watching the three-man circus unfold. Baron and Claude continued to tease Jasper while he tried his best to ignore them. He knew if he didn't remain calm and composed Bella would growl again, which, in turn, would only darken his already very-noticable blush. He snapped, of course, which caused a chain reaction leading to an agitated Bella, an immensly red-faced Jasper, and an extremely amused Baron and Claude. Carlisle and Samson looked on in bemusement. The two were probably wondering what Bella saw in these people. I wasn't so sure myself. Overall, it was the liveliest we'd all been in a long time.

**I had to write the ending three. Different. Times. I'm not sure if my second or third try was better, but at least I've finally got it posted. Reviews are appreciated.**


	20. Treading Water

**Sorry this took so long... It's kinda short too. Only five and a half weeks left of school though. If the story isn't over by then, I'll at least be able to update faster. Oh well. On with the story.**

**Treading Water**

_Jasper_

"You're gonna want to wear a scarf for a few days," Jasmine advised, studying my neck.

"It's not like I'm going anywhere," I replied. We all looked at Bella, who had passed out toward the end of the dialysis. Carlisle was taking advantage of the time she'd given him to work without a fight, covering her massive burn with some type of cooling cream. He turned toward me with a sheepish smile.

"I wondered at the time why she hadn't struggled like she normally would. Sorry, Jasper. We should've done something about your bite sooner." I avoided eye contact when everyone turned to stare at my bruised neck. "Her teeth are very sharp. I'm surprised she didn't draw blood," Carlisle commented offhandedly.

"She wasn't trying to hurt me or anything," I reasoned, fighting against the blood rushing to my face. "The needles scared her."

"Isn't that interesting, though, that Bella was in her right mind enough not to hurt you?" Jasmine questioned.

"Well I was talking to her before all this, and she didn't act like she was going to freak out on me."

"Maybe not you, but everyone else had to keep their distance," Claude pointed out. "And you were the one holding her down when Carlisle broke out the lumens."

"Hey! I was not holding her down," I corrected indignantly. "She could've easily slipped out from under my arm whenever she wanted." Silence echoed through the small room as we turned to Bella again.

She was laying face down on the hospital bed in nothing but her hospital gown and underwear. The gown was left untied in the back for obvious reasons. Her nails were still coated in dried blood since no one wanted to risk an unnecessary spazz attack. I'd been told Bella is freakishly protective of her nails, which makes sense when I think about it.

"So she could've killed us all right there and then if she felt like it?" Jasmine asked curiously.

"I guess. She didn't though," I defended.

"Is he actually brave or just suicidal?" I heard her mumble quietly to herself. No one else heard her.

Carlisle stood up and stretched. "I've done everything I can for the time being. You kids need to eat something." He shooed us out of the room and I reluctantly obliged. At least she could sleep without being disturbed now.

Samson was sitting in the hall when we stepped out. When had he left?

He waved absently as the others passed and I stopped. "Why are you sitting out here?" I asked as I crouched down.

Samson shrugged, then suddenly looked up at me. He seemed to think for a minute before pulling a file out from under him. He shoved it into my hands and waited quietly.

"Where you hiding this?" He nodded.

"Why did Baron give this to you?" He looked away from me, taking a sudden interest in the plain white wall behind me.

"You stole it?" He pouted, probably disapproving my word choice.

"You borrowed it without asking," I reworded. "But why?" Samson glanced cautiously around before pointing to me, then the door to Bella's room, then back at me.

I gave him a confused look and he took the file from me. He opened it up and handed it back. This time, he pointed to me, then the file, then Bella. "You think this can help us more than it already has?" He shrugged, then nodded again. "Didn't Baron go through it already?"

Samson rolled his eyes. I'd never seen a five-year-old roll his eyes before. "What? Does Baron not read well?" I asked sarcastically. Samson nodded solemnly. "Oh. I'll read through it again then." Samson stood and patted me on the shoulder before walking off somewhere. Strange kid.

I flipped through the file and noticed something. It was a helluva lot more detailed than the other one I'd seen. There weren't many pictures though. Maybe one small image every ten pages. I froze when a name caught my eye. Aro Volturi. Thinking I'd misread it, I flipped through a few other pages. They were all written by Aro. Holy crap! I heard footsteps echoing down the hall and stuffed the file into my hoodie. Aro had always seemed a little off, but had never realized just how much.

"You didn't eat, Jasper?" Jasmine asked.

"Not hungry," I answered. That much was true.

"Okay, then. Are you going back in with us?"

"Yeah," I got up off the floor after the other three filed back in. Samson walked silently up to me with a scowl. I bent over, so that I was at his eye level. "It wasn't the information you were concerned about, was it?" Samson shook his head. "It was who wrote it." He nodded and we both walked quietly into Bella's room, pretending things hadn't clicked into place in my head.

When we stepped into the room, everyone jumped. I was going to ask why, but quickly realized something. Bella was awake. Once the others found it was only Samson and me, they turned back to stare at Bella again.

Bella was definitely awake, but she didn't look like she was all there either. She sat slouching forward, shakily holding herself up by her arms. Her blood-stained hair fell in a tangled mess over her face, and her breathing was shallow.

With a sudden burst of energy, she tilted her head up and shoved her hair out of her face. "You need to leave." Her voice was hoarse, but her tone left little room for arguments.

"But-"Claude started.

"Let me talk to Jasmine. Alone," Bella interrupted.

"At least let Carlisle stay," I tried to reason. What if something happens?

"I can go a few hours without a doctor present. It's nighttime now, isn't it? Go get some rest. Knowing you guys, you haven't gotten a full night's sleep for a while." When no one made a move for the door, Bella added, "That's an order. Jetzt." She made a dismissive hand motion and I looked to Claude. He gave her a reluctant scowl before stalking out of the room. Baron followed with Samson, and Carlisle followed suit.

"You too, Jasper. Let the girls talk." I glanced at Jasmine, wondering what Bella was thinking. She shrugged and gestured toward the door. With an irritated huff, I began the walk to the waiting room on the first floor.

XxXxXxXxXxXxXxXx

_Jasmine_

After the others left, I cautiously stepped closer to Bella's cot and took a seat at the end. "You have some questions?" I asked warily.

"You know me so well," Bella sighed. "Let's start with the basics, shall we?"

"That sounds nice," I agreed, hoping to put off the unpleasant questions as long as possible.

"What's the date today?"

"December 10th. You've been missing since the explosion at the very beginning of the month."

"The tenth, huh?" Bella reached behind her and picked up her pillow. She dropped it in front of her and plopped face down into it. "What do the normal people know about all of this?"

"The civilians?" She nodded. "They were told you were on vacation in the mountains, but they know that's nothing but a farce now," I sighed.

Bella lifted her head to 'look up' at me. "How did that happen?"

"Ghost's insider spilled to the news people that there was some connection between Isabella and Bella," I informed sourly. _I didn't even know that!_

Bella scowled. "I knew I should've done something about that when I had the chance."

"You know who it is?"

"Yes. I think someone else knows too. No... At least two others know who it is..." Bella massaged her temples as she thought. "I'm a bit hesitant to let anyone else find out."

"Why? We need to get rid of this guy!" Why didn't she want us to know who the intruder was? It didn't make any sense.

"If he knows that you know about him, he won't hesitate to kill you." Bella reasoned. "I don't want you trying anything by yourselves either." She seemed to get lost in her thoughts until I heard her mumble under her breath. "When I die, I'll have to haunt him. He'll be much more miserable than I've ever been."

She was starting to act a little weird. Her fingers flexed as she spaced off, like a cat expanding and contracting its claws. Her head tilted to the side. "Bella?"

She quickly snapped back and responded as if nothing had happened. "What?"

"Are you okay?"

"For now, I am." Her eyes squinted as if she was trying to see something. "I don't know how long this is going to last though."

"What is 'this'?"

"Full consciousness," she reiterated. "These side-effects have been acting in waves, pulling me under as they hit." She stretched and sighed. Her voice was muffled by her pillow as she continued. "You said today is the tenth?"

"Yeah," I replied, struggling to keep up with her.

"I only remember fractions of days. Especially toward the end of my 'disappearance'." She confided.

"Really?" She nodded.

"I survived off of instinct and willpower for most that time. No time to think in those types of situations, I guess." Bella seemed strangely apathetic about all of this.

"And none of this bothers you?" I asked in disbelief.

Bella shrugged, then stopped. "Well..." she began hesitantly, "Actually, I kept hearing a voice. It sounded familiar, but I couldn't place it at the time." _Interesting..._

"You say that like you know who it was now," I mused.

"It was just a figment of my imagination." Bella quickly changed the subject. "Now to the complicated questions. Did anyone 'see' anything?"

I recognized what she was asking immediately. Images of the lab ruins flashed through my mind. The heavy, wooden trapdoor... The pitch black hallways... That little poorly lit room... Bella tied down to the table with the I.V. In her neck... The 'lab rats' returning..._ That_...

"I'll take your silence as a 'yes'. Who all saw it?"

"Claude, me, Baron, Samson..." She flinched. "And Jasper," I finished reluctantly.

Bella's shoulders slumped. "He must've been terrified. What did I do?"

"You killed off a few lab rats. And actually, Jasper took it better than any of us. He walked right up to you and calmed you down while the rest of us hid under a lab table." _He was shaking like a leaf at the time, but it was still impressive._

"So everyone's okay?"

"We're all peachy," I used Jasper's word. "As long as you're okay."

Bella scowled. "That's good." Her words contradicted her solemn expression.

"You are okay, right?" She seemed to be doing better, minus the serious case of lethargy.

"For now," Bella repeated. "Just a little longer," she sighed quietly. I didn't think I was meant to hear it, so I didn't comment. "I don't know if I'll find the surface next time, so let's get the business talk over with."

"Surface?" I asked.

"After the next wave pulls me down," Bella explained. "I wonder how many are left?" she asked thoughtfully.

I was really starting to worry. This wasn't normal Bella-speak. She definitely thought she was going to die. Her acceptance of her own death was almost... Eerie. What happened to that stubborn streak she's had for as long as I've known her?

"You guys should decide soon whether or not you still want to do Ghost work. I completely understand if you don't want to anymore. You've had to deal with a lot these past few months." She was lost in her thoughts as they spilled out of her mouth. "Samson would've made an excellent ghost ten years from now. I don't think I would want to subject him to that, though..." Her voice faded in and out as she mumbled quietly to herself. "I'm getting tired again."

"Why don't you get some more sleep," I advised. Bella looked exhausted.

She picked her head up off the pillow as I stood. "It's been fun. Look after everyone for me, okay?"

My stomach dropped. "Okay," I answered smoothly.

"Nice meeting you," she mumbled tiredly.

"Nice meeting you, too." My eyes started to prick and I turned quickly on my heel, walking swiftly out of the room. I closed the door quietly behind me and looked for the nearest bathroom. No way could I let anyone see me like this. They'd rush into Bella's room in a heartbeat, and I knew she didn't want that.

I looked into the mirror and cringed. Big, salty tears were gushing from my eyes, dripping down my cheeks, blurring my vision. My hair was a tangled mess, and my makeup was smeared all over my flushed face. A few drops of blood were splattered here and there from Bella's episode in that lab. Still, I had no reason to complain. It's not like I was dying.

In the mirror, I could see a clock hanging behind me. 11:53. We'd talked for a few hours. Hopefully, everyone was either asleep or at home. I doubted the latter, but still hoped for the first. What would I tell them?

**Yet another depressing chapter... Thanks to everyone that has reviewed, subscribed, favorited, and everything else! I'm glad people like my story!**


	21. Innocence and Instinct

**Sorry this update took so long! Out of curiosity, when do you guys get out of school? I'm not out until June 2nd, so I was just wondering if anyone else got out as late as me. Anyway, this. is. not. the. last. chapter. Now that I have you wondering, read on.**

**Innocence and Instinct**

_Bella_

The door clicked shut and I immediately slapped a hand over my mouth. _Hang in there... Just a little longer now._ I tried to keep my breathing as shallow as possible as a warm liquid began pooling in my lungs. Shoving the blanket off with my free hand, I waved it lightly, trying in vain to cool off. _So hot, _I thought tiredly. Apparently, another of the side effects was some type of fever.

_Just a little longer_, I thought. _They can't see me like this._ I breathed lightly through my nose, trying not to cough. _Don't you dare let them hear you. _Groping for the bedpan, I gave it a tug and leaned weakly over it. The thick liquid slowly climbed up my throat and settled in my mouth, leaving the ever-familiar iron taste in its wake. Once my mouth was full, I spat the foul fluid into the waiting tray and shoved it back under the cot.

Finally able to breathe normally, at least for a little while, I settled against my pillow for a peaceful catnap.

XxXxXxXxXxXxXxXx

_Jasper_

Less than five minutes after we reached the waiting room, Claude and Baron had already crashed. Samson and I were sitting silently, waiting impatiently for Jasmine to come back. What were they talking about? I was dying to know.

Five minutes soon became ten, then twenty, then thirty. Samson and I shared a look, and I pulled the file out of my hoodie. Maybe we could figure out something helpful while we waited. Just as I flipped it open, though, Carlisle walked in. He eyed the file curiously.

"What might that be?" he wondered aloud.

Samson looked up at me, then shrugged. _He must not mind Carlisle seeing it._

"It's the file Baron had earlier," I replied nonchalantly, like it wasn't at all strange that I had it.

Carlisle glanced at Baron sleeping in the corner, then at the file. "Anything worth telling me?" he asked curiously. "I don't know what could be of help _now_, but it might be worth a try."

"I haven't read much yet, but I'll let you know," I responded. Samson nodded in agreement.

"Alright, then. I'll be tending to the other patients." Carlisle gave a halfhearted wave before turning on his heel and disappearing around the corner.

Once he was gone, I redirected my attention to the file. The first page was basic information.

**Name: To be determined**

**DOB: 9/13**

**Gender: Female**

**Blood Type: Unidentified**

**Eyes: Ultraviolet (not fully formed)**

**Hair: Brown**

**Weight: 9.99lbs**

**Length: 18.00in**

**Additional Information:**

**-Purple tint to skin at and before birth implies possible circulatory problems.**

**-Eyes not fully formed, blind.**

**-No crying, expressionless.**

**-Avoids contact when possible**

**-Blood same ultraviolet as eyes and skin. Open circulatory system?**

**-Weighs more than estimated (expected to be roughly 5lbs)**

**-Unresponsive, sleeps roughly 18hrs/day**

**-Further research required.**

I scowled down at the paper. "Further research required?" I deadpanned. Just what did these people think she was? An experiment? Samson turned the page, urging me to continue.

**Several blood tests have confirmed that a foreign, unidentified chemical has somehow mixed itself into the subject's bloodstream, in turn, causing many extreme side effects:**

**-Subject's pH level varies from 8.5 to 9.0 (severely basic, should be around 7.35 to 7.40)**

**-Chemical's color is suspected to be blue, creating the ultraviolet color.**

**-Accelerated healing abilities?**

**-Resilient to sudden changes in temperature, injuries, and other environmental changes.**

**-Advanced thinking and motor skills for given age.**

**-Able to go relatively long periods without food/water.**

**-Irregular heatbeat—study longterm effects.**

**-Source still to be found.**

**-Negative effects to be determined.**

Below the bullet points were graphs and data tables comparing Bella's stats to the average person. They were so far above the average level that the graphs had to be adjusted just to show them. Most of the numbers didn't make much sense. I knew what pH meant, but that was about it. Still, I continued skimming the pages until I heard shoes tapping lightly on the tile floor. Jasmine was back.

Samson flinched. I looked up and saw him gazing warily at Jasmine. When I saw her myself, I understood his alarm. Her eyes were bloodshot, and her makeup was smeared across her flushed cheeks. That was _not _a good sign.

"What happened?" I jumped out of my chair and rushed up to her.

She sniffed, and kept her eyes carefully fixed on the wall across the room. "Nothing. Bella just needs some space is all." She shifted awkwardly on her feet.

"What aren't you telling me?" I asked, dreading the answer.

"Don't worry about it," Jasmine said, avoiding my question.

Samson walked up to us and gave Jasmine a gentle pat on the back. The haunted look in his eyes told me he knew a lot more than I did about all of this.

"I'm going back," I told them as I turned toward the hall leading to Bella's room.

"Wait! Don't go in there!" Jasmine cautioned. "You'll only make things harder for her."

"What is that supposed to mean?" _Make things harder, as in, they're already hard?_ "What is going on?" I repeated.

"Bella doesn't think she'll get better." Jasmine's voice cracked. "She doesn't expect-" She stopped to take a deep breath. "She doesn't expect to make it through the night." A sob escaped her lips and she covered her face with her hands. "She said, 'Nice meeting you'. Who says that in this type of situation?" Jasmine started shaking, and Samson carefully nudged her into the nearest chair.

My stomach sank further with each word Jasmine said. _But Bella looked like she was doing so much better,_ I thought brokenly. What are we going to do?

Suddenly, Jasmine looked up at me. "Go see her," she decided. "Make sure she's comfortable and that she doesn't suffer in silence for our benefit. Bella deserves a break."

I took take as my cue to go and left Samson to comfort Jasmine while she broke down._ It's like I just stumbled into my worst nightmare..._

XxXxXxXxXxXxXxXx

Bella was sleeping when I first walked in. She was lying on her stomach with her face buried in her pillow. I moved noiselessly toward her cot and took a seat beside it. She shifted away from me in her sleep, but otherwise didn't react.

For well over an hour, we stayed like that. Bella sleeping, and me watching her every move like a crazed stalker. It didn't make any sense. Jasmine had been so freaked out earlier, but Bella looked fine. Sure, she had a gaping hole of a burn in her back, but other than that she just looked like she was sleeping. After a while, I started feeling drowsy. Giving Bella one last cautious glance, I leaned back in the chair and let sleep take over.

I woke with a jolt after a loud thud echoed through the small room. Taking in my surroundings, I realized I was still in the hospital. My eyes landed on the source of the thud and I cringed. On the floor on the opposite side of the cot was a flustered Bella. She had one hand clamped over her mouth while the other flailed about, groping the empty air as if it were looking for something. I ran around the cot and kneeled down beside Bella.

"What happened?" I asked in shock.

Bella sputtered a cough and clamped her free hand against her mouth as well. Was she going to puke? I looked around until I noticed the bedpan just above our heads. _That should work._

I stood up and gave it a tug before setting it down on the floor. Reaching for Bella, I did a double-take. Why was there a giant blood splatter in the bedpan? Shaking my head, I nudged Bella toward it. _I'll ask later_.

"Here, Bella. Do you feel sick? What's wrong?"

Suddenly, Bella swayed where she sat and started falling forward. I managed to catch her by the shoulders before her face smashed into the bloody bedpan. Holding Bella in place, I watched a stream of crimson pour between her lips. _Now I know where the blood splatter came from._

The stream flowed steadily on for at least a few minutes, making me wonder how much blood could possibly be left. _What should a person do in this type of situation?_ The answer was obvious: Call Carlisle. So why did I feel like I couldn't do that? That answer came just as quickly: Bella doesn't want me to. Had she wanted help, she would've asked Carlisle to stay in here with her.

"_You'll only make things harder for her... Bella doesn't think she'll get better."_

Jasmine's words sliced through by memory like a double edged sword. _Bella's condition won't improve_. That much was obvious just looking at her. Blood still dripped from her lips five minutes later, slower than before, but that didn't mean it was about to stop.

"I'm making it harder," I mumbled. Still, what was I supposed to do? Sit in the waiting room, maybe take a nap, and wait for the bad news all this foreshadowed? Hell no. I couldn't just sit around doing nothing while my best friend died. I stopped.

_Best friend..._ Until then, I hadn't even thought about what Bella was to me. _Why did I wait until now to realize this? _Just the thought made me growl at my own stupidity. Of course she was my best friend. I'd actually cried when she told me she was leaving, and I am not a crier. At all. Not even a little bit. I was ripped from my thoughts by a sputtering cough.

Bella leaned away from the half-full tray and sucked in a deep breath, breaking into another round of wet coughs. I let go of her shoulders and pushed the bed pan to the side, moving closer to Bella. She looked more alert now than she did before, and she was sitting up without help. _That's good._

"Are you feeling better? Want some water?" Bella nodded, so I got up and walked into the bathroom connected to Bella's room. Beside the sink were a few Styrofoam cups stacked on top of a piece of paper. Ignoring the paper, I grabbed the top cup and filled it up. I was about to leave when my eyes flickered back to the paper. Was it a note?" With an irritated sigh, I snatched up the paper and walked back into Bella's room.

She was back on the bed, acting as though nothing had ever happened. The only evidence proving it wasn't all in my head was the bloodied bed pan on the floor and Bella's blood soaked face and hospital gown. Rather than interrogate her about it, I decided to play along for a while. _No point in fighting her if I don't need to._

"Here's the water. Let me get a washcloth for your face." I watched Bella swish some of the clear water around in her mouth and spit out a pinkish liquid into the bedpan. It would've looked like a magic trick, had she not been covered in blood.

In the bathroom, there was a set of washcloths in a cabinet just above the sink. Taped on the inside of the cabinet door was note.

Have you read it yet? Was written in large, cursive print. I immediately looked down at my left hand, the one holding the small paper. Tearing the note off the door, I crumbled it into a tight ball and tossed it into the trash can under the counter. I pulled out a washcloth and soaked it in warm water before I finally read the small paper in my hand.

Follow your instincts.

What was that supposed to mean? Shrugging it off, I grabbed a dry washcloth and the wet one before walking back into Bella's room.

This time, she was pulling awkwardly at her hospital gown, her empty water cup long forgotten. _Probably because it's sticking to her._ I stood next to the bed until she acknowledged me a minute or two later.

Bella scowled up at me and said, "I didn't get anything on you, did I?"

"Nope," I answered. "I'm clean."

"Good." Sensing what I wanted, Bella turned toward me and shook her hair out of her face.

"Thanks." I tossed the dry towel next to Bella and gently tilted her face up with my free hand. While I carefully washed the blood from Bella's face, I remembered, "You never answered my question."

"Which one?" she asked with a half smile.

"Are you feeling better?" I reiterated.

"I guess," she replied. "The side effects seem to come and go."

"Oh," was all I managed to say. _When will they be coming back?_

"I was wrong about something," Bella suddenly remarked.

"What's that?" I asked curiously, reaching for the dry washcloth.

"About you, I mean. I completely underestimated you."

I let go of Bella's face and stared with open curiosity._ She underestimated me? I would've thought she _over_estimated me_. "What makes you think that?"

"You seemed sort of apathetic at first. You didn't bother trying to talk to anyone or fight back when they tried picking a fight," Bella recounted thoughtfully. "Then you turned around and helped me out when I had one of my meltdowns," she added. I could hear the embarrassment in her voice for mentioning it. "After seeing your more sensitive side," she smirked, "I wondered how long I'd be able to keep you around. I wasn't thinking about killing you," she added hastily.

"I know that." I rolled my eyes at her, though I knew she couldn't see.

"Anyway," she continued. "I didn't think you could handle being around me, seeing and hearing the things you would, for very long. You always managed to surprise me, though. And since you took so many things in stride, I selfishly decided to drag you further into my mess, introducing you to everyone, having you work for me."

"Those were my decisions, too," I pointed out. "You didn't force me to do anything." Actually, I'd been more than willing to do everything she'd suggested.

"Really?" Bella didn't sound convinced.

"Yeah. It was my choice to drive you home to feed your crazy bat, my choice to see where you work, my choice to start working there, and my choice to help find you after you disappeared. Besides, I'm here now, aren't I?" Bella hadn't even wanted visitors to begin with, so she obviously couldn't say she forced me to come in here and take care of her.

Silence echoed through the small white room while I waited for Bella to think things over.

"Why didn't you leave?" she finally asked. "Didn't it go against your instincts putting yourself in such a dangerous position?" _Follow your instincts._ My eyes shifted toward the bathroom where the note was lying face down on the counter.

"No," I suddenly realized. "Nothing I did went against my instincts. I'd do it over again the exact same way, if I could, unless I found a way to keep this," I gestured vaguely around us, "from happening."

"You really are far too kind. I hope no one else chooses to take advantage of that," Bella sighed.

"No one, especially not you, has taken advantage of me," I assured her.

"It feels like I did." Bella swayed a little to the left before righting herself. Out of what felt like pure instinct, I stepped closer and held her steady like I had earlier.

"You didn't. It was my choice," I repeated.

"Why?" I heard her ask. She seemed to be leaning more heavily on my hands than before.

Taking another step closer, I let her lean against my chest. Bella tucked her head under my chin and slumped against me while she awaited my answer. _Why did I do all those things? _Surely it wasn't just a twisted set of instincts that had me coming back despite everything. The average person would've run away screaming just after following Bella into her dark, creepy basement and being tackled by a fruit bat. I, on the other hand, did the exact opposite. Why?

"Because I l-" I froze. "Because I knew you were worth anything and everything that could ever be thrown at me," I told her honestly.

My eyes widened in shock when I felt Bella's arm wrap loosely around my waist. "You really are too nice," she sighed. "I'm sorry that you have to face the consequences of our choices, but I'm glad we made them."

I didn't know what to say, so I followed my instincts and wrapped my arms around Bella's tiny shoulders, resting my head on top of hers. Neither of us said anything for quite some time, but the silence was comfortable.

After an immeasurable amount of time, Bella leaned away from me and gave my shirt a gentle tug. It took me a second to realize what she wanted, but when I did, I quickly obliged. Pulling back the covers on the cot, I laid down on top it and waited for Bella to curl up next to me before I dragged the covers over the both of us.

When I woke in the hospital for the second time, it wasn't because Bella had fallen of the cot. She was lying next to me, shaking violently enough to make the headboard smash repeatedly into the wall behind it. I tried sitting up, but Bella had a death hold on my arm.

"Bella?" I whispered. "Bella, are you awake?"Her grip loosened just enough for me to slip my arm out and sit up. I quickly pulled her into my lap and tilted her face toward mine. I was about to ask her again until I got a good look at her face.

My stomach dropped as my eyes took in the familiar red liquid seeping between her lips and dripping from her eyes and nose as if she were crying tears of blood. I sat in stunned silence until another round of wet coughs echoed loudly through the otherwise silent room.

Snapping back, I tried to think through the thick haze that had begun clouding my mind. _What should I do? What should I do?_ Nothing would work, and I knew it.

Suddenly, Bella wrapped her arms around herself, and through her heavy panting, I thought I heard, "So cold. Bad little monster."

I reached out to touch her, and she was on fire. It actually hurt to lay a hand on her arm.

"Bella?" I asked alarmed. I couldn't hide my panic anymore, and I didn't want to. "Can you hear me?"

"Stop it!" she snapped. "Bad little monster! Die!" I flinched back in shock. _What the hell is happening? _"Run," she said.

"I can't just run!" I yelled back at her. "What happened to you?" This wasn't the Bella I knew. It was like she was possessed or something.

"Mistake, messed up, bad things die," she stated.

"What was a mistake? Who messed up?"

"Useless, blind brat. You're lucky you're so damn indestructible," Bella snarled.

"You're talking about yourself," I finally realized. "Repeating what the lab rats told you."

"Save us the trouble. Go die." Her liquid-filled lungs made her sound like she was talking to him under water, only adding to the already startling words.

Bella fell against my chest, breathing heavily. The blood seemed to be flowing faster than it had before. Her body convulsed violently as her lungs struggled to find oxygen.

It wasn't long before we were both drenched from head to toe in Bella's blood. Even the sheets on the cot beneath us were stained an unsettling red. The fog had thickened, dulling my senses. The only one remaining was touch. All I could do was hold Bella tightly against me while she slowly gave up her struggle for air. A heaviness in my chest grew worse as the minutes passed, and I knew, even through the fog, that Bella was gone.

**Again, I remind you: the story is NOT OVER YET! There are still one or two chapters left. Hang in there! Also review if you have the time. I want to see what people thought of this chapter.**


	22. Bloody Hospital Gown

**Bloody Hospital Gown**

_Jasmine_

When I woke up, I found myself in the hospital. Struggling through the haziness that always came with sleep, I finally remembered why I was there.

"Bella!" I gasped.

Something jerked beside me, and I looked down to see a confused Samson curled up in the seat next to me. He sat up and looked around, before he, too, realized what had happened. Samson leapt off of the chair and disappeared around the corner. I shouted a quick "Wake up!" to Baron and Claude before following Samson up to Bella's room.

XxXxXxXxXxXxXxXx

At first, it didn't register at all. I couldn't even comprehend what I was looking at. _Too much blood,_ I thought. It was like walking into the goriest scene of a slasher movie.

Most of the room looked perfectly normal. It was the bed that made my heart skip a beat, then try to jump out of my throat. I barely noticed Samson's little hand cling tightly to my pant leg as he took in the sight before him with wide eyes.

Bella and Jasper were lying on the small, blood soaked cot, clinging to each other like they were hanging on for dear life. Both of them were coated head-to-toe in dried blood, probably stuck together by it. I couldn't tell whether they were alive or not, or even where—or rather who—the blood had come from. Whoever it came from was dead for sure. The entire bed had been saturated, so much so that the blood had spilled down the sides, leaving a crimson ring around the bed and filling the bedpan lying beside it.

I wanted to turn around, run out of the hospital, and never look back, but I couldn't. My feet were frozen in place, as if the crimson liquid had somehow reached them and hardened, cementing them in place. Tearing my eyes from the bloodbath before me, I looked down at Samson.

Unlike me, Samson kept his eyes fixated on the bed, unable to look away. His eyes flickered from the bed, to the floor, then the bedpan, finally settling on Bella and Jasper. Never breaking his stare, he took a hesitant step forward, pulling me with him. We took a couple more steps before Claude and Baron walked in.

Claude swore profusely as he took everything in.

"Are they alive?" Baron eventually asked.

"I don't know." Everyone's voices sounded off, like I was hearing through a tunnel.

Samson pulled me the rest of the way and stood on top of the chair beside the cot. He reached a shaking hand toward Jasper and touched his neck, feeling for a pulse. He then shook his head, indicating that at least Jasper was still alive.

Next Samson reached for Bella, feeling around her neck for a pulse. It was a few minutes before he let out a frustrated huff and pulled his hand away. He stared intently at her before holding his hand over her face. Confusion flitted across his face before he looked up at us and shrugged.

"You don't know?" Claude asked in disbelief. He and Baron moved closer to the bed and tried to tell if she was breathing. "She's not," Claude sighed.

I looked back at Samson, wondering what he was thinking. He met my gaze and pointed to Bella's heart.

"She has a pulse?" He nodded. "But she's not breathing." Samson shrugged again, as if repeating himself. We both stared quietly at Bella until we heard Carlisle talking to someone, walking down the hallway.

XxXxXxXxXxXxXxXx

_Phil_

The second I answered my cellphone, I knew something had happened. Maybe it was my paternal instincts finally kicking in. I didn't know why, but I had a feeling the call had something to do with Bella.

"Phil, we need you at the hospital," Carlisle informed me.

"I'll be there in fifteen," I said.

Stuffing my phone back into my pocket, I ran into Aro's office and told him I was leaving early. He nodded, his eyes never leaving the file he'd been looking at.

"Take your time," he called behind me.

XxXxXxXxXxXxXxXx

When I arrived at the hospital, Carlisle met me at the entrance. He led me inside without a word until we'd passed the empty waiting room and turned the corner.

"I'm sure you're aware Bella's been alive until now," Carlisle stated.

I nodded numbly, the_ until now_ not escaping my attention.

"You saw on the news about Bella and Isabella, yes?"

Again, I nodded.

"And the bombing of that old laboratory?"

"Bella did it," I confirmed.

This time Carlisle was the one to nod. "Afterward, she fled north to the woods where you found her." Carlisle gave me a sidelong glance before continuing. "She had a boy with her, around five years old, named Samson. She passed Samson on to a man whom Jasper was in contact with, before turning around and allowing herself to be caught and taken back to the ruins of the lab she destroyed." Carlisle stopped walking and turned to face me. "I don't know much more. Just that the others found Bella and brought her back here after she killed three or four of her captors. Her condition was quite severe when they first brought her in, but I haven't seen her for hours. She sent us all away."

I nodded again, and we continued toward the end of the unused hallway of the hospital. Bella was like a cat. She usually kept to herself, only giving others attention when she deemed it necessary. There were few exceptions—Jasper, Claude, Jasmine, and a couple others—that were able to attract and hold her attention without irritating her. More than that, though, was her habit of hiding away when she was sick or injured. She acted as if it would be nothing more than a burden for others if they helped her, no matter how badly she needed it. Once you had her trust, much like an animal, she was always loyal.

It wasn't until I saw the others that I even realized I'd reached Bella's room. Their solemn expressions warned me to expect the worst, so I wasn't surprised to see Bella's blood drenched body lying on the cot. I was, however, somewhat surprised to see Jasper beside her. In retrospect, I should've expected it, though. Bella had told me once how she constantly worried for Jasper's safety, that she didn't want to get him killed.

"Jasper is alive," Claude informed me and Carlisle. "Bella..." His eyes drifted from our faces back to the cot.

Hesitantly, I approached the cot. Seeing Bella in that bloody hospital gown reminded me of the first time I'd ever seen her. How long ago had it been since that time?

_Flashback_

Waiting impatiently for his next assignment, Phil McCarty paced aimlessly around the empty halls of G.H.O.S.T. The previous mission had been yet another human trafficking bust, nothing too exciting. This time, though, Phil's boss had promised him something far more interesting: a manhunt. All he needed now was the file with his target's information.

Only people involved in the organization knew about the existence of this line of work. Phil liked to think of G.H.O.S.T. as a combination of every government corporation combined into a single institution that worked from the shadows. And since it worked from the shadows, rules were much more flexible. In fact, Phil had made a habit of "bending" them whenever the opportunity presented itself. Phil didn't think himself a rule breaker. Instead, he considered himself a logical, think-outside-the-box type of guy.

Phil jumped when his phone suddenly vibrated in his pocket. He quickly snatched it up and flipped it open with a simple "McCarty."

"We're ready for you in my office, McCarty," the director stated.

"On my way," Phil acknowledged. He stuffed his phone back into his pants pocket and walked briskly toward the elevator._ Finally!_

The door to the main office was open, so Phil walked right in and took a seat in front of the director's desk. The man looked up for a moment, then returned his attention to the papers he'd been sorting through. "I see you're no less enthusiastic than usual."

"Of course I'm enthusiastic!" Phil blurted. "I finally get to do something interesting."

The graying man sitting across from him remained unruffled. Instead, he smiled up at the younger man in amusement. "Interesting, eh? You better watch what you're asking for, boy. Interesting jobs are far more complex than what one may see on the surface. Will you be ready for the consequences?"

"I can handle it." Phil didn't fully understand the meaning behind his superior's words, but he figured he'd find out soon enough.

"Alright, then." The director shuffled once more through the papers on his desk before placing them back into their file. "Your goal for this mission will be to catch this man—dead or alive—and bring him back here. He's made the news several times now, so you'll probably recognize the name and picture. Phil reached for the file and opened it to the first page.

John Doe. Phil did recognize the name, and not just because of its use in labeling unidentified bodies. This John Doe was a serial killer that had been wreaking havoc in a neighboring city for well over three months. In that time, he'd murdered ten men and women, slashing them to pieces and burying them throughout the area. Others had been reported missing, but it wasn't known whether they were relevant to the John Doe killings.

"Remember, Phil," the older man advised, "to follow your instincts here. If something feels wrong, you leave immediately. Understand, boy?"

"Got it!" Phil nodded a silent good-bye to the director and made his way to the elevator. It was nearly eleven. Luckily, Phil's son, Emmett, had planned to sleep over at a friend's house. In the parking lot, Phil fished out his cellphone to give Emmett a quick call before he went to bed. They hadn't had much time to talk lately, after all.

_Three days later..._

After reading through the file twice, Phil finally noticed a pattern. All of the bodies had been buried within ten miles of the outermost parts of Death Grove, a forest just north of Devils Lake. Locals claimed the woods were haunted by the ghost of a young girl in a hospital gown. No one dared approach the place. Even the "troubled" teens in the area knew to steer clear of the eerie forest._ Sounds like a good resting place for someone in hiding._ After gathering some more information on Death Grove, Phil decided to pay the place a visit.

A dull excitement stirred in the pit of Phil's stomach as the dark woods came into view. _This is it!_ The two hour drive from Voltaire had definitely been worth his time. Everything in him told Phil he was on the right track. When he finally reached the forest's edge, Phil put the car into park and killed the engine. He sat back and took in his surroundings curiously.

Large, bulky trees stretched as far as the eye could see. Four men could stand around even the smallest of the trees and still not be able to touch hands. _How old is this place?_ It looked ancient, as if it hadn't been disturbed for centuries. Powerful trees towered well over a hundred feet above him, easily smothering what little moonlight should've been visible through the dark, rolling clouds. _Creepy_, Phil thought. Ignoring the nagging uneasiness in the back of his mind, Phil stepped into the trees.

Only the sounds of rustling leaves and snapping twigs beneath his feet echoed through the dense trees. The further he walked, the darker it became. Soon the foliage was so thick Phil couldn't see his hand in front of his face. Still, he felt his way deeper into the pitch black woods.

After a while, panic began creeping its way into the forefront of Phil's mind. _Where am I?_ He didn't know anymore. How long had he been walking? Certainly, he should be near the opposite edge of the forest by now. What had he been thinking, wandering into such a large forest in the middle of the night. _I should've brought a flashlight or something._

Phil jerked in surprise when the roll of thunder suddenly echoed around him. Why was he so jumpy all of a sudden? No one was here but himself. Surely he would have heard them by now.

With an irritated sigh, Phil leaned against one of the massive trees and let his mind wander.

_Alright, I'm lost in a huge forest. I can't see a thing, and a storm is brewing right above me, Phil_ listed off. _But, _he mentally added, _if there's lightning, I might be able to find my way out of here. If not, at least the trees will keep me dry if it rains..._

_Phil_ was pulled from his internal monologue by a bone-chilling gust of wind. _Or I could follow the wind out of here. _With all these trees, it was hard to believe such a strong breeze could reach him._ I must be near an opening._ Moving against the wind, Phil groped his way through the trees, hoping to find an exit.

Just as he reached the opening he'd been looking for, a bolt of lightning crashed across the sky, revealing a giant, circular meadow. _Crap_, he thought. _So much for finding my way out of here_. Another crash was followed by an even brighter flash. Something across the meadow caught his eye, but the light faded before he got a good look. _What was that?_ It looked like a person. Had he been right about this place? Was John Doe really here?

Another crash was echoed by another flash._ He's gone_. This time, the wave of panic hit him head on. Adrenaline surged through Phil's veins as he spun on his heel and rushed back into the cover of the trees he'd been trying to escape._ What the hell is going on?_

Thunder cracked and lightning lit the forest, revealing the form of a small girl in a torn, bloody hospital gown in the tree above him. Phil stumbled to a stop and gaped in horror. _The ghost is real? _

The girl leapt from the branch and landed silently in a crouch at his feet. Phil remained frozen, unable to rip his eyes from the girl before him. She looked up as another flash lit the forest around them, and Phil gasped in shock, causing the girl to flinch away from him. The girl's dark eyes were featureless. They looked more the purple balls he'd find on a pool table.

It wasn't until a low growl rumbled in the girl's throat that Phil finally managed to find his voice. "U-uh... S-sorry to d-disturb you," Phil stuttered.

The girl let out an agitated huff, and the bushes behind her rustled. Another bolt of lightning revealed two white wolves on either side of the ghost child. _Holy crap! _Phil's eyes bugged out at the sight. He took a measured step back, and the wolves stepped closer.

_Follow your instincts..._

Unsure of what to do, Phil turned his attention back to the girl. "I'm Phil. Um... Have you seen anyone unusual around here lately?" he asked as calmly as he could.

"Seen..." the girl repeated.

"Yeah, seen. Have you seen anyone?" he repeated, hoping she understood.

The girl made an uncaring, dismissive sound, and Phil thought it was toward him until the forest was lit once again and he saw that the wolves had disappeared and the girl had risen to her feet.

"Will you help me find him?" Phil tried again.

"Help?" the girl asked.

"Yeah. I'm looking for a serial killer named John Doe. Do you know who that is?"

"Killer," she girl mumbled. "Monster."

"He is a monster," Phil agreed hesitantly, trying to follow the girl's line of thinking.

"Bad little monster. Die." Phil paled. She wasn't talking about him, was she?

_Will you be ready for the consequences?_

Suddenly, the girl took off, leaving him stunned silent. He tried ran in the direction he'd heard her move, but thought he'd lost her until he stumbled upon another break in the trees. There Phil was finally able to see. This opening was different from the first. It was a semicircle only half-surrounded by the trees. Across from him was the edge of a cliff.

Phil took a step toward it, and into the rain, then stopped to look up. His eyes went wide in shock when he saw the girl perched in a tree just feet away from. She hopped down and jerked he head toward the edge. Before Phil could ask the girl what she meant, she repeated, "Killer, die," and threw herself over the cliff.

"Not you!" Phil shouted in terror. He ran to the edge of the twenty foot cliff and gazed down at the broken corpse lying in pieces at the bottom. The corpse didn't belong to whom he was expecting, though. It was the remains of John Doe. Sitting cross-legged beside the corpse was the little girl in her torn, bloody hospital gown.

"Monster dead," she called up to Phil.

All he could do was stare openly at the bloodied body. John Doe had used a hunter's knife to slice his victims into pieces, then buried them around perimeter of the Death Grove. Now the pieces of John Doe rested at the heart of it.

"Yeah, monster dead," Phil finally whispered in awe.

_End Flashback_

XxXxXxXxXxXxXxXx

_Jasmine_

"We can't leave them like that forever," Claude sighed.

He was right. It had been two days since we'd found them, and neither had moved an inch. We were sure now that Bella was dead. Her pulse had stopped sometime yesterday. How it managed to beat on—despite the fact that she wasn't breathing—for so long was beyond us. I couldn't help but think it meant something.

Jasper, on the other hand, was very much alive. His pulse was steady—though nerve rackingly inconsistent—and he was still breathing as he should. It was difficult to say why he hadn't woken up yet. Carlisle thought it was probably trauma. _Still, two days without waking up?_ My guess was that he just plain didn't want to. _Maybe he's having a good dream that he doesn't want to wake from._ Thinking like that made me feel guilty for trying so hard to wake him up yesterday. _Would he really appreciate being dragged back into his harsh reality?_ I doubted it.

"Let's leave them for now," I suggested. "We can give them one more night before we take Bella to the morgue, can't we?"

"I guess so," Claude replied, eying the two reluctantly. "I just feel like something weird is gonna happen."

I gave Claude a reassuring pat on the arm, gently leading him out of the room. "That's understandable. This is _Bella_ we're talking about." We both glanced back at the still bloodied bed one last time before we left the hospital for the night. _I wonder why I feel so unsettled all of a sudden?_

XxXxXxXxXxXxXxXx

_Jasper_

I woke with a jolt and looked around in confusion.

"Where am I?"

It was a beach. _How did I end up at a beach?_ I couldn't help but wonder. _Where was I before this?_ Images of Bella puking up liters worth of blood assaulted my mind, leaving me gasping in horror.

"Bella!" Bella had died, I finally remembered. _I must've blacked out._

"What?" The voice came from behind me. I spun around and gaped in open surprise.

"Bella!" My horror was immediately replaced with mild confusion, then excitement. "You're not dead!" I pulled her into a hug, ignoring the fact that I'd probably drawn attention toward us.

"No, I'm not dead." She laughed, ruffling my hair.

"But how? You lost so much blood!" I pulled back to take a look at her.

She definitely didn't look like she'd ever been on the verge of death. Her reddish brown hair shown brightly and her pale skin looked flawless in the warm sun. Not a drop of blood to be seen.

Bella pulled on her black tank top with an embarrassed smile. "No need to worry about that here." She turned her head as if she was looking at something, so I mimicked her, trying to figure out what had gathered her attention.

Nothing. No one was there. I looked to my right, then my left, then behind me. No one was anywhere. All I could see was sand and a shoreline that seemed to stretch on forever. "That's weird," I commented offhandedly.

"Not really," Bella argued. "Besides, does it really matter?"

I looked down at her for a minute before shrugging. "I guess not."

"That's the spirit. Now what do you want to do?" She cocked her head, waiting patiently for my response. Nothing came to me, so I decided to ask questions instead. _Might as well get them out of the way._

"How exactly did we get here?" I asked curiously.

"You wanted to come, so we came," she explained vaguely.

"Like with a car?" I reiterated.

"If you want." She shrugged dismissively.

"If I want?" I asked, confused.

"Here, if you want it, you can have it."

"Have what?" Nothing she said made any sense.

"Anything."

"Huh?" I asked, hopelessly confused.

"If you want to go to the beach, you can go to the beach. If you want a cookie, you can have a cookie." Bella held out her hand, revealing a freshly baked cookie. "If you want a 'normal' life, it's yours." she finished earnestly. Bella looked up at me, as if waiting for something to sink in.

"...Normal?" I asked.

Bella nodded.

"You mean..." I looked down at Bella again, this time realizing what I should've noticed right away.

Bella had on a _sleeveless_ shirt that showed off her _flawless_ skin. Not a single scar marred her pale arms. From what I'd seen—which really isn't all that much—I knew that I should've been able to see at least a couple... Especially with the sun being so bright.

I stopped. We were sitting outside. During the day. In. The. _Sun_. More specifically, _Bella _was sitting_ in the sun_. Before I had a chance to think things through, my arm reached out and yanked Bella into my lap. With my back to the sun, I was able to at least keep her in the shade.

"Are you crazy?" I sputtered.

"You're the one that's crazy," Bella replied calmly. She patted my chest, silently telling me to calm down. "You should've put it together by now, Jasper. I have no scars, I can sit outside in the sun, and you don't know how you got here," she summarized. Bella shifted in my lap and tilted her head up as if she was looking me straight in the eye.

"When you first 'woke up' you were sure I was dead. You remembered how I lost all that blood and that we both eventually passed out. That was real; this isn't." With a reluctant sigh, Bella climbed out of my lap and rose to her feet. "This is only a dream, Jasper. It's time to wake up."

"But then you'll be dead, won't you?"_ I don't want to go back._

"Will I?" Bella asked with a knowing smile.

Before I could ask what she meant, Bella disappeared, and everything slowly faded to black.

**I was thinking about breaking this chapter in half since a lot happened, but I didn't, so if something didn't make sense feel free to tell me. I'm thinking there will be one more chapter before the end. Maybe two, but I'm kind of doubting it. Reviews will make me update faster, and the last chapter will be pretty dramatic. Just saying.**


	23. Blindsight

**Finally! The last chapter!**

**Blindsight**

_Claude_

I pretended I didn't see Jasmine cringe as we walked reluctantly back into Bella's room the next morning. We'd put the clean-up off for too long. There was no avoiding it now.

The air in the room was uncomfortably stagnant, the smell of dried blood as potent as ever. Something didn't seem right about it, but I couldn't quite put my finger on it.

Ignoring the weird feeling bubbling in the pit of my stomach, I approached the bed with Jasmine at my heels. We gave each other a wary glance before getting to work. Though neither of us had actually said anything, we both knew the other wanted to save the bed—and the people lying in it—for last. With that in mind, we wandered into the bathroom and found some supplies we could use to clean the floor. Under the sink we found an abundant supply of towels, cups, sponges, washcloths, and bleach. I pulled out a bottle of bleach and shared a bewildered look with Jasmine. _Why the hell did they have bleach in here?_

Silently questioning the safety of the hospital, we walked back into Bella's room and started cleaning. Normally, it wouldn't be our responsibility to clean up after things like this, but since this was _Bella_, having a nurse take care of the mess was totally out of the question. I couldn't even begin to imagine how the poor woman would react after seeing such a gory scene. It looked like something one would see in a horror movie.

Cleaning the floor didn't take as long as I thought it would. In fact, it was done far too soon. I caught Jasmine eying the bloodied cot with sheer dread. Neither of us was looking forward to what came next.

I was just about to suggest we take a break when a small piece of paper caught my eye. It balanced precariously off the edge of the cot, oddly free of the blood that should've sullied it beyond recognition. _How did I not notice that until now?_

Jasmine seemed to see it at the same time I did and snatched it up, reading it out loud.

"_Follow your instincts_."

She cocked her head and looked up at me, confusion evident in her bright blue eyes. "Where did this come from?" she wondered.

"Good question." The note had been lying nearest to Jasper, but how had he managed to keep it so clean when he, himself, had been completely soaked in blood? Shaking off the weird feeling that was creeping its way back into my mind, I rose to my feet and held out a hand for Jasmine. "Well, let's worry about it later. I want to get this over with." She nodded in agreement, and we walked to opposite sides of the bed—Jasmine on Bella's and me on Jasper's.

"They're not actually stuck together, are they?" she asked warily.

"I guess we'll find out," I sighed. "Are you sure you're okay with carrying her?" I gestured to Bella, noting the hesitance on Jasmine's face. If she didn't want to carry her friend's corpse, I wouldn't hold it against her.

It took a moment before she finally answered. "Yeah, I don't mind. Jasper is too heavy for me to carry anyway." She had a point, but I could've carried them both if she needed me to.

"Alright. Let's get this over with."

Unwilling to put it off any longer, Jasmine and I began lifting the two off the bed. We stopped when a disturbing peeling noise—like what one might hear when pulling two orange slices apart—echoed through the small room.

"Oh dear Lord! They did stick together!" Jasmine's face turned a sickly shade of green, and I tried to keep control over my gag reflex.

"Shall we take a break?" Though part of me—that is, the slightly nauseated part—wanted run from the room and never look back. The other, more logical part told me I'd never be able to walk back in here and finish the job if I chickened out now. Jasmine seemed to be thinking the same thing as she shook her head.

"No. Let's get this done."

Taking up our previous positions, we proceeded to pull the two the rest of the way apart. Once we'd separated the two, we scooped them up and carried them to the next room. The entire hallway was supposed to be unused, so no one would find them while we took care of the bloodied cot. We'd take Bella to the morgue and Jasper to a different room later.

"Hey, Claude?" Jasmine called hesitantly. I looked up from the stained sheets and waited for her to continue. "This is sort of a morbid question, but... Aren't bodies supposed to be stiff? You know, from rigor mortis?"

"Bella wasn't stiff?" I asked curiously. Something clicked, and I finally realized what had been strange when we first walked in. "Did she smell?" I inquired, already knowing the answer.

"No..." It took a couple seconds before Jasmine saw where this was going. "She didn't look decayed at all!" With that peculiar thought in mind, we rushed to clean the rest of the mess before hastily returning to the other room.

As expected, we'd been right. Bella didn't even look dead. She looked like she was sleeping, maybe in a coma or something, but not dead. I put a hand over her slightly parted lips, but didn't feel any breath against it. Jasmine searched for a pulse, but found none.

"Creepy," she whispered.

Out of curiosity, we did the same with Jasper. Unlike Bella, he was clearly alive, though his heartbeat and breathing both seemed unnaturally slow.

"So," I started, "What now?"

"I think we should leave them here," Jasmine volunteered.

I thought for a minute and decided I agreed. An inexplicable feeling churned in my stomach, telling me we were right to leave them for a while longer. Something good was going to happen.

"That note said to follow our instincts, right? Mine are telling me to keep these two in here together." Jasmine looked toward Bella and Jasper, then up at me. I nodded in agreement. "That note was kinda like a fortune cookie, don't you think?"

I gave Jasmine a wry smile and ushered her toward the door. "It was, wasn't it?"

Behind us, Jasper and Bella laid on the small, clean cot, one alive and the other dead. Thinking that, I couldn't help but wonder why this feeling of excitement was slowly building in the air around me, so thick it was nearly tangible.

XxXxXxXxXxXxXxXx

_Bella_

I woke up dazed and disoriented, and tried to take in my surroundings. Beneath me was an abundant amount of soft, smooth sand. Water sloshed lazily against my skin, but didn't moisten it. Instead, the wave felt more like a breeze flowing forward, then back, then forward again. _What is this place?_

People were around. I could hear their gasps and shrieks of delight as they, too, drank in the new setting. Somehow, we all seemed to know it wasn't a dream._ But what else could this be?_

A gentle tap on my shoulder pulled me from my thoughts. Though I couldn't see, my head turned out of habit.

"We're naked!" a little girl giggled in delight. My hands immediately went to my arms, then my legs, and finally my stomach. She was right. I was definitely naked. No clothes meant no cover, and no cover meant _everyone_ could see_ everything_. It wasn't that I thought I was ugly or anything—I wouldn't know anyway—it was my scars I was worried about. Surely, they were visible. Flustered, I ran my hands over my arms again and noticed something peculiar. I couldn't feel them. I sat dumbstruck, and the little girl giggled again.

"It's okay!" She patted my curiously smooth arm in assurance. "Everyone is naked!"

"Why?" I asked, unable to understand. "Where are we?"

"Heaven, silly! See that pretty castle way over there?" The girl pointed behind me, and I turned, knowing full well I wouldn't 'see' anything.

When I turned, I was surprised to find that, though I couldn't 'see' the castle, I did somehow recognize a shape in the distance. "Yeah, I guess I see it." It wasn't unusual for me to sense things that were nearby, but to be able to identify something so far away? I couldn't understand.

"I bet God lives there," the girl said. "We should go look!"

Suddenly, I felt a pang of panic in my chest. I couldn't just talk to _God!_ What gave me the right to do something like that? I wasn't an innocent child like the girl before me. I'd sabotaged and destroyed things; I'd dragged innocent people into a life of lies and secrecy. I'd stolen from some and killed others with my bare hands. "You can go. I'll stay here."

"Don't you want to see?" the girl asked curiously.

"Maybe later," I replied coolly.

"Okay! Come soon! You can meet my grandma and my old dog Jack!"

I smiled, despite myself, and waved as the girl turned on her heel and ran toward the castle. She never told me her name, I mused. It didn't matter, I supposed, since I had no intention of going anywhere near the castle. Instead, I'd lie back down in the moistureless water and listen to the people around me come and go.

It was difficult to say how long I'd been laying there. Minutes? Hours? _Days?_ I hadn't a clue. Only when I heard footsteps coming toward me did I stir. As the person came closer, my eyes suddenly shot open. I sat up quickly and turned toward the source of the footsteps. A violent flurry of emotions grew stronger with each of the man's steps: fear, shame, embarrassment, awe, happiness, peace. Though the first few dominated in the beginning, the latter three soon took over. This wasn't just any man. It was God.

"Hello, Bella," He greeted. "You didn't visit me today."

Fear, shame, and embarrassment began taking over once again. "Sorry," I mumbled almost inaudibly.

"It's alright. We can talk now instead." The voice was soothing; it smoothed over my frayed nerves, calming me once again.

"Okay," I answered quietly.

He sat next to me and was quiet for a little while. The silence was surprisingly comfortable. After some time, He spoke again. "You have nothing to be ashamed of. You think only of the negative things you've done, and completely overlook the good. Your missions, where you were forced to sabotage and destroy, were to help others. Hundreds of victims of crimes that no one else was willing to help were saved by your hand. Do you remember where you met Jasmine?"

"She was cornered in an alley." I scowled as I remembered those four large men. _Disgusting pigs._

"You saved her. If you hadn't been there at that time, she would've been killed."

Before I could stop myself, I said, "You could've saved her too."

"I could've," He allowed, a smile in his voice, "but that wasn't how it was meant to be."

I let it go, unable to come up with a decent rebuttal. "What about Claude, then? I only saved him from a flock of harmless girls."

"Without you, he would never have met Jasmine." _True._

"And Jasper?" I finally asked, somewhat wary of the answer.

"You are his best friend, his rock. Without you, he never would have made friends with Jasmine, Claude, Carlisle, Phil, or even Emmett. He was more reliant on you than you ever realized, and he will continue to rely on you in the future."

It took a minute for the words to sink in, and when they did, I whirled around to face God completely. "In the future?" I repeated.

"Yes, in the future." The smile was still evident in His voice as He continued. "Now is not your time. There is still much to be done. But first-" I felt a warm hand fall over my eyes and waited curiously. The warmth seemed to build, then soak into my eyes. There was a power to the warmth that I couldn't explain. I wanted to ask about it, but kept quiet. I had a feeling I'd understand soon enough. "You have nothing left to fear."

XxXxXxXxXxXxXxXx

After an immeasurable amount of time, I woke again and stretched my stiff muscles. Had it really been that long? Still lying on my back, I took in my surroundings.

The first thing I noticed was that my entire body felt sticky. I picked up my arm and held it to my nose. _Blood._ I was covered in blood. _Is it mine? _Gradually, my memories trickled back into my brain, leaving a bitter taste in my mouth. Yeah, definitely mine.

The second thing I noticed was an equally sticky arm draped over my waist. _Jasper. Why is he still here?_ Judging by the weakness I felt and the stiffness in my muscles, I was sure I'd been... dead... for at least a day. (Thinking like that was strange, so I decided to dwell on it later.)

Had Jasper been with me the entire time? I assumed so. Had he left, he probably would've taken a shower and scrubbed the dried blood from his skin. For a second, I wondered whether he was actually alive. Hesitantly, I reached for his neck searching for a pulse. When I found it, I pulled my hand back, grimacing at how it stuck to his neck. I then moved my hand to his face, feeling satisfied as his warm breath rushed over it. Then again, why had I even wondered. God isn't exactly one to lie.

By now, I knew I was in the hospital. Still, I couldn't help but wonder why I hadn't been moved to the morgue... _Oh well. This makes things much easier._ After moving Jasper's arm, I rolled off the bed, nearly face planting on the floor._ It's been more than a day._

With an irritated huff, I picked myself up and wandered into the bathroom for some washcloths. They weren't hard to find. I grabbed a handful out of the cabinet and soaked them in the sink before taking them back to the surprisingly clean cot. _We must've been moved_.

Once I'd sat back down on the bed, I dropped the mound of went towels beside me. I jumped when Jasper suddenly rolled over. He held himself up with his elbows and turned toward me. We were both quiet until Jasper reached up and poked my cheek. I squeaked in surprise.

"You're real this time, right?" he asked cautiously.

"Yeah?" It came out as more of a question than an answer.

"Just checking." Jasper sat up and reached for one of the wet towels. "I had a really weird dream. We were sitting on a beach in the middle of the day. We were the only ones there." I had expected him to start wiping the blood from his face, but instead, he started cleaning mine off. "You actually told me to wake up." He'd gotten most of the blood off of my face when he suddenly stopped. "Can you open your eyes, or are they stuck?"

I tried to open them, then slapped my hands to my face. "Gah! They're stuck."

Jasper pried my hands from my face and grabbed a new washcloth. "Here, let me help. Do they hurt?" He carefully washed away as much of the blood as he could before telling me to try again.

"They don't hurt. They do feel different though." I remembered the mysterious warmth that had seeped into them before. _Was that why?_ Carefully, I opened my eyes.

XxXxXxXxXxXxXxXx

_Jasper_

Bella jumped. She tilted her head up and I immediately understood why she'd been so surprised. Her once malformed eyes were no longer featureless. The only thing that remained the same was the ultraviolet color of her irises.

"Can you see?"

"I think I can," she replied, eyes wide with wonder. "That's what it was."

**Hopefully, you guys liked the ending. I wasn't totally satisfied with it, but I plan on doing a rewrite. Speaking of rewrite, now that OOSOOM is finished, I'm going to focus my attention more on fictionpress from now on. There's a link for my fictionpress account on my profile. Check it out if you liked this story. As always, review if you liked it. Even if you didn't, you can always tell me how I can improve.**

**Thanks to everyone that stayed with me for the entire story. It took nearly a year!**

**~Back Away Slowly Then Run**


	24. Final Author's Note

This is just a quick author's note**. The first chapter of the OOSOOM rewrite is officially up.** You can find it at http:/www(dot)fictionpress(dot)com/s/2816608/1/Out_of_Sight_Out_of_Mind. Chapter 2 will be up next Friday.

Thanks for your patience!

~Back Away Slowly Then Run


End file.
